How urban planning, drainage inadequacies fuel flooding

Dar es Salaam. The recent onset of heavy rains in Tanzania’s commercial hub of Dar es Salaam has laid bare nagging challenges in the form of poor urban planning and underdeveloped infrastructure, The Citizen has learnt.

After sections of key roads were closed and commuters struggled to navigate flooded streets in the last few days, experts called for urgent action to address systemic issues contributing to the severity of the flooding crisis.

The commander of the Dar es Salaam Regional Road Safety Unit, Mr William Mkonda, confirmed on Tuesday that flooding in various parts of the city had prompted the authorities to close sections of some key roads, prompting commuters to seek alternative routes, or risk being stranded.

Affected areas include the Jangwani section of the busy Morogoro Road, Kinondoni Mkwajuni, Africana and the road linking Kigamboni and Kibada and Kisarawe 2, where a bridge collapsed and cut off communication.

In Temeke Municipality, the road through Veterinary via Mwembeyanga was also termed unsafe due to huge potholes that posed a risk to motorists and other road users.

“We continue to urge road users, especially motorists, to be more cautious. If they don’t have urgent business elsewhere, they should stay at home, or seek services in nearby areas,” Mr Mkonda said.

The closure of Morogoro Road in the flood-prone Jangwani area forced the Dar es Salaam Rapid Transit Agency (Dart) to suspend services between Kimara and the city centre and Gerezani.

“Dart wishes to inform users of the BRT commuter transport system that services have been temporarily suspended after the Jangwani area was closed due to floods,” Dart said in a statement.

The Controller and Auditor General’s latest report shines a light on underlying challenges in town planning that have exacerbated the current crisis.

The report reveals that informal settlements cover 70 percent of general land in Tanzania.

These unplanned settlements lack basic infrastructure and are often located in flood-prone areas, amplifying the impact of heavy rain and putting residents at risk.

“The New Urban Agenda (NUA) Implementation Report of 2021 indicates that 1,444,586 properties were constructed in unplanned settlements in the country,” the report says and points a finger at the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Human Settlements Development, the President’s Office, Regional Administration and Local Government, and planning authorities.

“For the past four financial years, out of the 55 Master Plans planned to be developed and approved, only 25 were prepared (45 percent), and out of these, five were approved (equivalent to 9 percent of the total approved Master Plans).”

The connection between inadequate town planning and the current flooding crisis is evident in the disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities living in informal settlements.

Analysts say with insufficient drainage systems and improper land use, these areas are particularly susceptible to flooding, resulting in loss of life, displacement and damage to property.

According to Lusugga Kironde, a professor of land and urban economics and lead consultant at TKA Company Limited, frequent flooding in Dar es Salaam and other major urban centres stem from a lack of proper investment in drainage systems.

“It is a question of investment in our infrastructure, particularly drainage systems,” he said and added that it is evident that Dar es Salaam does not have a proper drainage system.

“A proper drainage system has to be interconnected to allow floodwaters from one location to join water flowing in another (location) and offload at a common point – the ocean.”

Prof Kironde said as things stand, most roads, including those in planned settlements, do not have a properly planned drainage systems.

“If we have flooding even in properly planned locations like Mbezi Beach, then that tells you the state of the drainage system in Dar es Salaam.”

An expert from the Institute of Resource Assessment at the University of Dar es Salaam, Prof Pius Yanda, called for urgent action to address the root causes of flooding.

He said while many people blame the problem on climate change, in urban areas flooding is often caused by the clogging up of drainage systems as a result of improper disposal of solid waste.

“Flooding comes with many consequences such as a heightened risk of water-borne diseases, damage to property, economic impact on individuals and communities as a whole and the often overlooked impact on the mental health of victims.”

Prof Yanda said the government’s response has so far been good and encouraging, with comprehensive relief and rescue measures being taken in various parts of the country.

Rains wreak havoc countrywide

The impact of heavy rains extends beyond Dar es Salaam, with widespread flooding reported in several other regions, including Arusha, Mbeya, Morogoro, Lindi, Kigoma and Manyara.

This has resulted in deaths and serious damage to property, thus underscoring the urgent need for coordinated disaster response.

In the first two weeks of April, devastating floods claimed 58 lives in various regions, according to chief government spokesperson Mobhare Matinyi.

An agricultural trade economist from the University of Dodoma, Dr Lutengano Mwinuka, said from an economic perspective, there are two major factors – time and costs.

He said when it rains, it affects many activities, most of which are in urban areas, and people spend much longer to accomplish their tasks as flooding affects access and delays transportation.

“Economically, this affects money circulation and business operations in general.”

Dr Mwinuka added that in terms of costs, rains also damage infrastructure such as sewage systems, roads and culverts, which the government must spend money to repair.