WHILE the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) was predicting that heavy rains will persist until Monday in the city of Dar es Salaam, outpouring for the past three days had paralysed business in certain areas by cutting off road links.

With bridges, houses and roads waterlogged in various areas, shops were closed to wait for the water to drain away, with taking goods from the city centre hampered by blocked major roads and collapsed bridges. 

Morogoro Road at Jangwani area was impassable for most of the morning and midday yesterday as well as Kawawa Road at its Magomeni to Mkwajuni section, hindering commuter transport, including the rapid transit bus (BRT).

A section of city residents were all the same relieved that extensive construction of key road arteries in various parts of the city had reduced the impact of flooding, limiting it to a few major roads, secondary bridges and road sections, as well as flooded housing areas which earlier were believed to be safe from floods.

Julius Terry, a trader at Mwenge area in Kinondoni District said that many shops in the area remained closed for two days or more due to the heavy rains.

Water was coming up to the shop frames so traders had little to do but to wait for the rains to decrease and the pooled water to drain out, he said, even as another trader, Mariam Juma, was disturbed by the sharp decline in customers since the non-stop rains started.

“We are not selling anymore, there is no business, because even if you try to push to open the shop, no customer comes. You can stay the whole day and get nothing,” she said.

The rains haven’t only affected people in the flood-prone areas but businesses as well because traders depend on customers from all sorts of areas to buy their products, she stated.

Yasinta Rashid, a resident of Manzese area in Ubungo District, said that the lack of usable drainage systems in inner city roads floods houses as water swells up randomly from each rooftop or raised part to descend to lower levels, create road pools and seep into houses.

On Wednesday, TMA issued a five-day severe impact-based weather forecast, projecting another round of heavy rains in Dar es Salaam and some regions, affirming that most parts of Dar es Salaam, Coast and Tanga regions as well as Mafia, Unguja and Pemba islands will experience heavy rains over the weekend and up to Monday.

Strong winds and large waves along the coast were expected along the entire coastline, the agency noted, indicating above normal rainfall throughout the season, chiefly from late February to first weeks of May.

Zones receiving substantial rainfall twice yearly or bimodal regions are more affected, despite that TMA cited Dar es Salaam, Coast, Tanga, Morogoro, Unguja, Pemba, as well as the Lake Zone regions of Mwanza, Geita, Mara, Kagera, Shinyanga, Simiyu and Kigoma.

Experience shows that non-projected areas also having two seasons of rainfall like Kilimanjaro Regions were intensely impacted, observers noted.