Italian Red Cross, Tanzania emergency: 10,000 families affected. Valastro: “The emergency is spreading. CRI team on the ground. Fundraising campaign open”

The incessant rains of the past weeks and the resulting floods have caused the death of 58 people in Tanzania. Seven regions are currently submerged in an emergency that affects 10,000 families, totaling around 85,000 people. Houses, roads, bridges, and schools are now submerged. There is much concern from both the institutions and the Tanzanian Red Cross (TRCS), which is supporting the population. The situation could worsen soon due to the consequences of “El Niño,” a climatic phenomenon that causes numerous floods, and due to possible new rains. Those same rains have completely submerged an agricultural area of about 76,000 hectares.

“We are seriously concerned about an emergency that, with the flooding of Lake Tanganyika in some areas of Burundi and the increase in precipitation in Kenya, is taking on even more extensive proportions,” said Rosario Valastro, President of the Italian Red Cross. “Not just one country, Tanzania, but the entire region is on its knees. A team from the Italian Red Cross, as part of the mission of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, is on the ground and is supporting the Tanzanian Red Cross (TRCS) in assessing the effects of this emergency and its developments, monitoring the situation as a whole and, more generally, all ongoing operations. The Italian Red Cross has also launched a fundraising campaign to respond to the needs of the population, foremost among which is ensuring adequate hygiene and environmental conditions and providing as much assistance as possible to people who have lost their homes.”

The Tanzanian Red Cross is managing 8 camps, set up to provide assistance to the population, which is also affected by a cholera epidemic. There is great concern not only for the possible occurrence of new climatic phenomena but also for the overall situation of homes and other structures, which are currently uninhabitable. The large presence of water and mud does not facilitate interventions to support the communities.

Link to the fundraising campaign: https://dona.cri.it/tanzania/~mia-donazione

Sources

• Italian Red Cross press release