Continuous heavy rains since early April across much of Tanzania have triggered floods and landslides, affecting over 200,000 people and destroying many infrastructure facilities.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city, is the worst hit this time. The city's main artery Morogoro Road is inundated. The floods have also damaged numerous roads, bridges, railways, and other infrastructure facilities in the city.
The Rufiji District of the Pwani Region is also one of the worst-hit areas. In the district's Mohoro Village, people have to travel on boats in floods, and they are in urgent need of essential supplies and sanitation services.
"There used to be a bridge at this site. It could get to the Mohoro market. But now, the bridge is underwater in the floods. It's risky to cross this area now, and many people have to take boats to go from one place to another," said a local villager.
"That house that got flooded was mine. At a round 20:00, the flood came. My whole family was inside the house at the time. When the water burst into the house, we had to leave right away to the road outside. Later, we took our luggage to settle at a place higher up," said another local resident affected by the flood.
As of Thursday, the death toll from flash floods in Tanzania has risen to 155.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, much of Africa is currently experiencing extreme weather due to the combined effects of the El Nino and Indian Ocean Dipole phenomena.
Floods devastate Tanzania
A delegation from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Sunday visited the Galaxy Leader, a vehicle carrier hijacked by the Houthi group, and met with its 25-member crew near the port city of Hodeidah in western Yemen.
Houthi forces boarded the ship using a military helicopter on Nov. 19, 2023, and forced the ship to dock near the Hodeidah Port. The Houthis have not disclosed when it would release those crew members.
The ship is registered in Panama and co-owned by Nippon Yusen, a Japanese shipping company, and Ray Shipping, a company with partial ownership by Israeli businessman Abraham Ungar. The crew consists of 17 Filipinos, with the rest from Bulgaria, Ukraine, Mexico, and Romania.
The Houthis have been targeting "Israel-linked" commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since the escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict, in what they say a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
"We're already six months here in the ship and I like only to speak to the world -- please (give) freedom to the Palestinians and stop the war and ceasefire," said a Galaxy Leader crew member.
Freya Raddi, the deputy head of the delegation, said their main goal is to confirm the crew members' health condition.
"We have been managing to have some conversation with the crew here and our main objective was to bring Red Cross messages, also news from their family and also ask them to bring their news to their family. So this was our main objective of the visit. We found the crew in good condition," she said.
After the Galaxy Leader was hijacked, international maritime organizations issued statements calling on the Houthis to release detained crew members.
However, the Houthis insist that they will not stop launching attacks against Israeli-related ships, nor will they release detained ships and crews until Israel stops its attacks on the Gaza Strip and lifts its blockade of the war-torn region.
Int'l Red Cross delegation visits crew of Houthi-held ship in Yemen
