DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- Tens of hundreds of people in Tanzania's Bahi district in the central region of Dodoma have been made homeless after at least 120 houses were demolished by ongoing heavy rains, an official said on Tuesday.
"We are still assessing to establish the number of people who have been made homeless but an initial appraisal indicates that they are in hundreds," said Mwanahamisi Munkunda, Bahi district commissioner.
Munkunda, accompanied by Bahi district officials, made an inspection of the most affected district in Dodoma region to establish the actual damage caused by the rains.
Munkunda said most of the houses were damaged in Bahi Sokoni, Bahi Misheni, Mji Mpya and Nkogwa areas and villages of Mbuyuni, Uhelela, Laloi, Mugu and Nagulo.
Munkunda said Bahi district authorities have requested 400 million Tanzanian shillings (about 174,000 U.S. dollars) from the central government to rehabilitate the swept-away bridges.
Last week, Joachim Wangabo, Rukwa regional commissioner, said the ongoing heavy rains in Tanzania's southern highlands have killed three people and washed away four bridges, paralyzing transport in three neighboring regions.
He said the rains also swept away four bridges in Rukwa region that connected Mbeya, Songwe and Katavi regions, paralyzing transport between the regions also known as the east African nation's bread basket.
In late December 2019, at least 67 houses were swept away by flash floods caused by torrential rains in Mbeya and Morogoro regions.
