US Ambassador to Tanzania Alfonso E. Lenhardt said the relief supplies were being made available through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to the Tanzanian Red Cross Society (TRCS) to support families and communities affected by the floods.
'We deeply sympathise with those affected by this unfortunate event and are proud to support the efforts of the Tanzania Red Cross Society to alleviate suffering and help people get back on their feet,' said Lenhardt, ad ding that the assistance "from the American people will be used to provide immediate relief to 8,000 affected families with tents, mattresses, blankets, mosquito nets and other emergency supplies."
Approximately 40,000 people have been affected by floods in the areas hardest hit. The worst damage has occurred in Kilosa district, Morogoro Region, and Kongwa district of Dodoma Region, where many homes are either submer ged or have been washed away.
Besides destroying crops and pastures, the floods have also washed away sections of roads, bridges and the central railway linking Dar es Salaam port to the Lake Tanganyika port of Kigoma that serves neighbouring Burundi, DR Congo and Zambia.
Many wells providing drinking water have been contaminated while hundreds of displaced families are sheltering in temporary structures and converted public buildings.
Kilosa District Commissioner Halima Dendegu said Thursday that many villages were inundated and people living on higher ground have been asked to accommodate the affected population, while authorities looked for better places to camp them.
She urged all people to drink boiled water in order to avert an epidemic of diar rhoeal diseases.
Dar es Salaam - Pana 14/01/2010
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