At least 47 people have been killed while 85 others injured in landslides caused by heavy rainfall in Manyara region, Northern Tanzania.

An administration officer on Sunday, December 3 evening told a local media that the landslide — caused by flooding affected the town of Katesh, Hanang District.

Those affected are hundreds of residents residing on the slopes of Mt. Hanang, with district commissioner Janeth Mayanja saying that raging waters from the mountain after a night-long downpour sweeping downstream.

“Up to this evening, the death toll reached 47 and 85 injured. Many roads in the area have been blocked by mud, water and dislodged trees and stones,” Manyara regional commissioner Queen Sendiga told journalists.

President Samia Suluhu, who’s currently attending the COP28 summit in Dubai, send her condolences to the families of those who have lost their love ones.

Videos shared on social media show mud sweeping vehicles downstream in a deserted place that is otherwise densely populated.

Heavy rains in East Africa

The East African Region has been receiving heavy rains occasioned by the El-Nino effect.

In Kenya, death toll from flood-related incidences stood at 136 as at December 2, 2023.

According to the National El Nino Emergency and Disaster Response Command Centre, the number of households displaced stood at 92,432, which comprises 462,160 people.