Schools closed, transport paralysed as floods wreak havoc in SW Tanzania

Thousands of school children in southwest Tanzania's district of Kyela have been forced to stay home as their schools are flooded with water due to a heavy downpour that continues to hit the area for the past one week.

So far, the floods have killed two people while hundreds of others have been displaced in the district, which borders Malawi.

"We have closed down ten schools which are highly affected by floods," Kyela District Commissioner Thea Ntala said Friday.

The DC said that more than 6,000 school children will be affected by the closure.

According to her, apart from schools being flooded, transport for students has also been disrupted as some roads are impassable and some bridges have been swept off due to floods.

"Our earlier assessments show that the entire district is in water. There are people who cannot move from their houses because of floods. No economic activities are going on in the district," the DC said.

She said floods have also cut-off transport between key towns in the district, which is popular for growing organic cocoa, palm oil and the best rice in Tanzania.

Authorities in the area described this year's floods as the worst since 1998.

Ntala, who is also the chairperson of the district's disaster committee, appealed to the national government and well-wishers to support the district with humanitarian aids.

She said the ongoing rains would plunge the district into hunger as most of the rice fields are destroyed by floods. Endit