Nation in mourning as Hanang toll increases

Arusha/Dar. President Samia Suluhu Hassan has cut short her trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following the Hanang flash floods disaster, whose death toll rose to 68 yesterday.

President Hassan, who was attending the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 28) in Dubai, will be heading to Katesh Town to assess the aftermath of the disaster.

The State House Communications Directorate said in a statement yesterday that the Head of State was cutting short her trip to the UAE.

Immediately after disaster struck, President Hassan directed that government efforts be directed towards rescuing people and preventing further damage.

“Great shock”

She said she had received the information with great shock and that she was returning home to handle the catastrophe.

Several top government leaders travelled to Hanang on Sunday, shortly after the disaster hit calamity struck Katesh and Gendabi towns on the slopes of Mount Hanang.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa was yesterday in Hanang District where he was informed about the magnitude of the calamity which continues to baffle many.

He said during a meeting that the tragedy resembles that one that hit Ndanda in Mtwara in 1990 when flash flood from a nearby mountain swept away houses, killing and injuring several people.

According to a State House statement, a total of 1,150 households and 750 acres of crops were damaged in Sunday’s disaster. Apart from the death toll, which kept changing each hour from Sunday afternoon, 85 people have been hospitalised in various health facilities.

Address the crisis

Mr Majaliwa told the Manyara regional leaders that President Hassan has decided to cut short her trip and that she would fly back home “as soon as possible” to address the crisis.

The PM was at 4pm yesterday expected to lead senior government officials in funeral service for the 50 plus victims of the tragedy at Katesh Primary School grounds.

This is as the rescue teams continue to comb through tonnes of mud and debris in search of the flood victims who may be trapped there.

Fears abounded in Katesh that the magnitude of the tragedy may be monumental with rising casualties because many people were still not accounted for.

Rescue teams are also having difficulty combing through mounds of mud which has accumulated in the town centre; damaging houses and burying vehicles and other properties.

“There are fears that some victims may be trapped in the mud. Some residents of Katesh are still not accounted for,” Mr Julius Gidabuday, a resident of the area, told The Citizen on the phone.

The bodies of the flood victims were released late yesterday as cleanup of roads, streets and clogged culverts and canals was underway at Katesh.

 The deluge has reduced the once vibrant town to a sorry state due to massive destruction of property.

Rescue teams which have also roped in the army were also combing mud and debris in search of bodies of people who may have been trapped.

At the same time, residents of some of the town’s suburbs deemed to be prone to floods are being urged to move to safer areas.

Mr Majaliwa also directed proper coordination among the government departments in the rescue operations.

In line with President Hassan’s directives, key ministries were tasked to coordinate their activities in order to restore essential services disrupted by the tragedy.

 These include power which was disconnected as the electricity poles were swept away by the raging waters and mud.

The President also directed the ministry of Health to ensure treatment of the injured and better coordination of burial arrangements of the victims.

And Mr Majaliwa said the government responded almost immediately to the crisis by dispatching rescue teams from Babati and Singida.

However, he commended the Manyara regional leadership and Hanang district authorities for prompt actions taken after the calamity struck. According to the PM, specialist doctors would be flown to Hanang for treatment of the injured people in addition to supporting the bereaved families.

Sunday’s flash floods disrupted transport along the Babati-Singida highway on Sunday as boulders and logs blocked passage on the busy road.

The ministry of Works, through its key agencies, Tanroads and Tarura were tasked with clearing the Babati-Singida highway of logs, rocks and other debris to make it passable.

The PM was in Katesh in the company of several ministers including the Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) responsible for disaster management, Ms Jenista Mhagama.

National leaders

Others were minister for Home Affairs Hamad Yusuf Masauni, the minister for Works Innocent Bashungwa, the deputy minister for Health Godwin Mollel and a host of other national leaders.

A brief report by the Hanang District Council was not clear on the cause of the flash floods which led to strong currents of water and mud cascading towards the Katesh town from the slopes of the mountain.

However, it said the rains which pounded the area before and during the midnight deluge were normal such that they did not cause any alarm.

The critically affected areas were Katesh township which doubles as the Hanang district headquarters and Jarodom village, closer to the mountain.

Ganana and Dumbeta are within the district town’s boundaries. Other villages that were affected were Gendabi, Sarujandu, Sebasi and Arukushay, roughly located some 20 km away.

People who were directly affected were 2,500 in Katesh township, Jarodom 2,500 and Gendabi 600, totalling 5,600.

A total of 26 vehicles, 19 motorcycles and two tractors were destroyed. The statement added that until Sunday evening 85 people were hospitalized.

Twenty eight of them were rushed to the Manyara Regional Hospital in Babati, 31 at the Tumaini district hospital at Katesh and 20 at the Gendabi health centre.

Tragedy and COP28 agenda

The flash floods and landslides provide a stark reminder of the immediate and devastating impact of climate change. The catastrophic event which has also destroyed hundreds of homes and farms, brings into sharp focus the pressing need for global climate action as currently deliberated at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai.

Though she had to cut short her trip and return home to address the unfolding crisis, President Hassan is on record as having emphasised that climate change was not a distant threat but an urgent crisis requiring immediate action.

During her first speech at COP28, President Samia Suluhu Hassan addressed the global community, emphasizing the urgency of climate action.

She highlighted the unfulfilled commitments made during previous climate conferences, including the $100 billion annual commitment for climate action in Copenhagen and the resolutions as agreed in Paris to keep warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

 “It must be said, unfulfilled commitments erode solidarity and trust and have detrimental and costly consequences for developing countries,” she said.

Her call for adherence to science and immediate action to fellow leaders at the conference call resonates more strongly in the wake of the disaster in Katesh.

As discussions continue on ramping up climate finance and determining the Global Goal of Adaptation, the Tanzanian tragedy emphasizes that these deliberations go beyond policy debates; they directly impact the lives and well-being of communities facing the harsh realities of climate change.

New dimension

The Loss and Damage Fund, a key topic at this year’s conference, also takes on a new dimension as Tanzania grapples with the immediate aftermath of a climate-related catastrophe.