A Zanzibari man was killed over the weekend after floods caused his house to collapse on him, police have confirmed.
Mjini Magharibi Regional Police Commander Mkadam Khamis said the man was died after his house collapsed.
RPC Khamis named the deceased as Salim Mohamed a resident of Migombani who was buried by the house wall when he woke up and got out of his house to see the rains and haphazardly one of his house’s wall collapsed and buried him to death.
He further said that the ongoing rains across the Isles, many families were rendered homeless; hence the govermment opened a temporally camp at Mwanakwelekwe C Primary School to accommodate the victims.
“We are still collecting information on the magnitude of the disaster,” the regional police chief said.
He also announced that the main road from the heart of Zanzibar town to Mwanakwelekwe has been closed for safety reasons.
According to the RPC, most affected are buildings in valleys and those built along water channels.
He cited the worst affected areas to include Kinuni, Migombani, Mpendae Chumbuni Mwakwerekwe, Kwahani and Mtoni suburbs of Mjini Magharibi in Unguja.
Eyewitnesses say the rains pounded the island most of the night and floods started around 3AM when most people were asleep. Rukia Omar of Chumbuni area said there is need for humanitarian aid.
Accfording to the Chumbuni MP, Ussi Salum Pondeza said more than 300 houses have been destroyed by floods; “We have been forced to relocate more than 100 families from the area due to floods,” the lawmaker said describing the floods as the most devastating in Zanzibar’s history.
