Samia to visit disaster zone as experts debate causes

Arusha. President Samia Suluhu Hassan will visit the areas affected by the flash floods in Hanang District tomorrow, the State House said yesterday.

The visit comes shortly after the President was forced to cut short her trip to Dubai for COP 28 so she could attend to the disaster back home.

Immediately after the disaster struck, President Hassan ordered all government efforts to be directed towards rescuing people and preventing further damage.

The President also directed various ministries to immediately restore essential services disrupted by the tragedy.

These included 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 free treatment of the injured and better coordination of burial arrangements for the victims.

Meanwhile, the tragedy leaves pundits wondering as to what could be its real cause.

Opinions are divided on the real cause, with remote chances that it could have been caused by a volcanic eruption. Geologists reached out said they do not link the disaster with volcanic activities, although Mt Hanang is a volcanic mountain.

The 3,420-metre-high mountain in the Manyara region is classified by earth scientists as a dormant volcano.

Although dormant volcanoes are deemed to pose no danger given their geological inactivity, they may erupt again in the future.

Volcanic eruptions do occur through active volcanoes, and there is only one in Tanzania: Oldonyo Lengai Mountain in the Lake Natron Basin.

When it does occur, the mountain spews molten rock, hot rock fragments, and hot gases through a vent called a volcano.

But residents of Jarodom village, which bore the brunt of the floods that saw families swept to death, insist on linking the calamity to an eruption.

“It was shortly after 5am (on Sunday) when there was a loud bang and what looked like a volcanic fire.

“Suddenly, it was followed by strong currents of water gushing from the mountain,” said Alfredo Shahanga.

The Arusha-based athletics trainer was in his home village, which shares a border with Mt Hanang’s protected area, for days prior to the disaster.

His views are shared by fellow villagers who bore the brunt of the tragedy that followed a night-long downpour, for some reasons.

Jarodom village is not only much closer to Mt Hanang than Katesh town, located some five or so kilometres downstream.

It is only metres from the springs, from where the raging waters originated, but may have been saturated with water due to the rains.

Speculation is rife that the violent waters would have been caused by the tilting of an aquifer or the disintegration of water-laden rocks.

In a report presented to Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa at Katesh yesterday, Hanang district officials said they were aware of claims of “an eruption borne by fire.” However, the officials insisted that there was no proof of a volcano eruption and that the matter could be tackled by geologists or other experts.

The Prime Minister, on his part, added; “We (the government) are yet to know the cause of the tragedy.”

Nevertheless, he told the Manyara region and Hanang district leaders and other senior government officials that have trooped to Katesh that relevant experts would be reached out on this.

The PM likened the Hanang flash floods to a similar tragedy that befell residents of Masasi District in the Mtwara region in 1990 during the peak of a rainy season.

During the incident, the mountains spewed mud, killing people and livestock and destroying property worth millions of shillings.

In 1993, a similar case was reported in the Usambara Mountains (Lushoto District), where huge rocks, logs, and debris cascaded from the mountains after heavy rains and floods.

It caused much havoc in the lowlands, specifically around Mombo Township, flooding houses and farms and destroying transport infrastructure.

Incidentally, the raging waters were nowhere to be seen yesterday, according to residents of the village.

Water was flowing normally from the streams, and people crossed them at will.