Story highlights
More than 4,000 families have been affected
Thee consecutive days of were heaviest in 57 years, newspaper reports
High tide also contributed to flooding, aid official tells U.N. Radio
Heavy rains and flooding have killed at least 23 people in Tanzania and displaced more than 4,000 others, state-run media reported.
Officials fear the death toll could rise.
Three consecutive days of rain, the heaviest in 57 years, caused the flooding, reported the state-run newspaper Daily News, citing the regional commissioner.
President Jakaya Kikwete visited a camp for flood victims Thursday in Dar es Salaam. The capital has been inundated with murky water. Shops were shuttered and residents scrambled to find higher ground.
The United Nations was working to assess what kind of aid the Tanzanian government will need to cope with the crisis.
Philippe Poinsot, director of the United Nations Development Programme in Tanzania, told U.N. Radio that the rains combined with high tide led to disaster in the densely populated coastal city.
” A large number of families have been affected,” he said.
Disaster teams are working to evacuate people from flood-prone areas.