heavy rains - The African Mirror

Jan

2024

Collapse of goldmine in Tanzania kills 22, official says

THE collapse of an illegal small-scale gold mine has killed at least 22 people in northern Tanzania following heavy rains, a senior government official said. The accident happened early on Saturday in the Simiyu region after a group of people aged between 24 and 38 years old started mining in an area where activity had been restricted due to ongoing heavy rains, Simon Simalenga, the region's Bariadi district commissioner, told Reuters. "Initially we were told that there were 19 to 20 people who were trapped in the mines but unfortunately we ended up retrieving 22 bodies," he said, adding that…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Zambia digs for at least 25 miners buried in open-pit mudslide

NEWS

RESCUE workers in Zambia were still searching for at least 25 informal miners buried alive three days ago by a mudslide at an open-pit copper mine, Mines Minister Paul Kabuswe said. The miners at Seseli Mine in Chingola, about 400 km (250 miles) northwest of the capital Lusaka, were trapped in three places and heavy rains had flooded the pit, the government said. It was not immediately clear how many miners were trapped, but Kabuswe said 25 families had so far come forward to claim missing relatives who were working at the mine when the accident happened. The rescue workers,…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Death toll from flooding in Somalia climbs to nearly 100

NEWS

THE number of people killed by floods from heavy rains in Somalia has climbed to 96, state news agency SONNA said. "Somalia's flood death toll climbs to 96," SONNA said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, adding the figure had been confirmed by Mahamuud Moallim, the head of the country's disaster management agency. Like the rest of East and Horn of Africa, Somalia has been battered by relentless heavy rains that began in October, caused by the El Nino and Indian Ocean Dipole weather phenomena. Both are climate patterns that impact ocean surface temperatures and cause above-average rainfall. The…

Nov

2023

By The African Mirror

Cargo rail services to Kenya’s Mombasa port resume after flooding

NEWS

CARGO rail services to Kenya's Mombasa port have resumed after floods damaged a section of track over the weekend, Kenya Railways said. Heavy rains linked to the El Nino phenomenon, followed by flash floods, have submerged towns across East Africa, leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless. In Kenya, the death toll from the floods stood at 52 as of Friday and is expected to rise. The loading and offloading of cargo have restarted, while the passenger service was also operating a normal service, the state-owned rail operator said in a statement posted on the social media platform X. "We…

Oct

2023

By AMINDEH BLAISE ATABONG

At least 28 people killed after rains burst dam in Cameroon

NEWS

A wave of water released by a burst dam killed at least 28 people in Cameroon's capital Yaounde following heavy rains, with the death toll expected to rise, authorities said on Monday. A colonial-era dam gave way at around 4 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Sunday, unleashing water from a small lake down the steep hillside of the Mbankolo neighbourhood, said local leader Assola Joseph. The deluge swept away a large chunk of hillside, destroying homes and burying the area in debris and mud. Residents and rescue workers on Monday picked through the mess of rubble, broken timber, uprooted banana trees…

Oct

2023

By SUBRATA NAG CHOUDHURY and JATINDRA DASH

Himalayan lake flooding in India kills 18, nearly 100 missing

WORLD

AT least 18 people were killed and nearly 100 were missing after heavy rains caused a Himalayan glacial lake in northeast India to burst its banks, the worst such disaster in the region in more than 50 years. Lhonak Lake in Sikkim state overflowed on Wednesday, causing major flooding that authorities said had impacted the lives of 22,000 people. It is the latest deadly weather event in South Asia's mountains being blamed on climate change. The weather department said Sikkim received 101 mm (4 inches) of rain in the first five days of October, more than double normal levels, unleashing…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

As cyclone nears, Mauritius and Madagascar brace for floods, storm surge

NEWS

MAURITIUS grounded flights and shut its stock exchange as tropical cyclone Freddy approached the island in the Indian Ocean, while emergency teams braced for heavy rains, floods and landslides in four regions on Madagascar. The cyclone, packing wind gusts of up to 120 km per hour (75 miles per hour), posed a direct threat to Mauritius, its weather service said. "As Freddy approaches ... (a) storm surge is likely to cause coastal inundation in risk areas. It is, therefore, strictly advised" not to go to sea, the service's bulletin said. The cyclone could pass as close as 120 km (75…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

S.Africa’s Transnet halts rail link to regional countries after heavy rains

NEWS

SOUTH Africa's logistics utility Transnet suspended freight rail services on its North East Corridor, which links with several countries in southern Africa, as heavy rains damaged infrastructure on the line. The corridor, which mostly moves mineral commodities, links South Africa to Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. "Disruptive weather conditions in Mpumalanga and Limpopo have adversely affected Transnet Freight Rail operations in the North-East Corridor," Transnet said. "Heavy, abnormal rains damaged the rail infrastructure across the corridor's major commodity pathways resulting in severe disruption to the train service," the utility said. The corridor would only be…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Landslide kills at least 8 people in eastern Congo

NEWS

A landslide crushed at least eight people and seriously injured nine others near an artisanal mine in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a local official told Reuters. The wounded are in critical condition and receiving treatment at a local health facility, the administrator of Fizi territory in South Kivu Province, Aime Kawaya Mutipula, said by phone. Landslides are relatively common in the hilly slopes of eastern Congo where heavy rains can saturate and loosen the soil. But they are more likely to occur if the soil has been disturbed by mining, tree-felling or construction. In December, intense rains in…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Two feared dead, 20 missing in landslides in Japan

WORLD

AT least two people are feared dead after landslides triggered by heavy rains hit the central Japanese city of Atami, where about 20 people were still missing, public broadcaster NHK said. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who convened an emergency task force to tackle the crisis, asked people in the affected areas to remain on alert. "There may be more heavy rainfalls and we need to be taking the highest caution," Suga said in televised remarks. The floods are a reminder of the natural disasters - including earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunami - that plague Japan, where the capital Tokyo is to…