Picture from Tanzania Urban Resilience Programme
I've always thought that living in a coastal city is a privilege. Who wouldn't want easy access to a beautiful, clean ocean and all the seafood you could dream of eating? However, this paradise turned into a wet hell in the first half of 2024. Coastal regions of Tanzania, including the city of Dar es Salaam, experienced their first-ever tropical cyclone event (HIDAYA), which caused heavy torrential rains, severe flooding, and landslides. This wet disaster was linked to the 2023-2024 El Niño climate pattern, which was a global phenomenon of heightened global temperatures and erratic weather conditions. Between January and May, the rainfall accumulated to over 1000mm of rain in the eastern and southern regions of Tanzania. Moreover, the flooding and landslides took the lives of over 200 people and affected over 200,000 people, ranging from infrastructural to agricultural damage.
Map of Timing of wet and dry conditions related to El Niño from FEWS NET
I flew home from boarding school at the beginning of April and remember that it was raining when I landed at the airport. On the ride home, I could barely see outside of the car window due to the rain. At certain moments when the rainfall calmed down, I saw entire streets and roads submerged in water, and the drainage ditches had become pathways for violently flowing rivers. The next 3 weeks of what I hoped would be a warm and sunny holiday were dampened by non-stop rainfall. Thankfully, my house was built in a neighborhood that sat just above sea level. Fortunately, my home was not flooded, and the roads leading up to it were relatively unaffected as well.
This amount of rain and flooding had really surprised me because it was drastically different from the usual wet and dry seasons I, as a Dar resident, was used to. We would experience heavy rains here and there, and there would be the occasional flooding, but it would usually clear up in preparation for the dry months (June to October). It seemed, however, that the grey skies and endless downpour showed no signs of stopping. Ironically, weather conditions in Tanzania swung to the extreme opposite end of the spectrum as the hottest temperatures were recorded shortly after the end of the wet season.
“Climate Monitoring
- ICPAC.” Icpac.net, 2024, www.icpac.net/climate-monitoring/seasonal/observed-rainfall-conditions-for-january-to-march-jfm-2024/None/?page=2&. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
“El Niño 2023-2024 | FEWS NET.” Fews.net, fews.net/el-nino-2023-2024.
Henson, Bob, and Jeff Masters. “A Rare Tropical Cyclone Landfall Is on Tap for Tanzania.” Yale Climate Connections, 3 May 2024, yaleclimateconnections.org/2024/05/a-rare-tropical-cyclone-landfall-is-on-tap-for-tanzania/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
Lasteck, Alfred. “Tanzania Floods and Landslides Kill More than 150 - PM Kassim Majaliwa.” Www.bbc.com, 25 Apr. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68896454.
Lasteck, Alfred , and Eagan Salla. “Dar Es Salaam Floods: Roads Unpassable in Tanzania’s Main City.” Www.bbc.com, 22 Jan. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68054402.
Mefo Newuh, Mimi. “El Nino Climate Pattern Intensifies in East Africa – DW – 04/26/2024.” Dw.com, 26 Apr. 2024, www.dw.com/en/el-nino-climate-pattern-intensifies-in-east-africa/a-68932184.
Tanzania Urban Resilience Programme. “Draining Dar’s Economy – the Impact of Floods on Tanzania’s Commercial Capital – Resilience Magazine.” Resilienceacademy.ac.tz, 2019, magazine.resilienceacademy.ac.tz/ra-magazine/draining-dars-economy-the-impact-of-floods-on-tanzanias-commercial-capital/.
Wow, roads being submerged in water seems really scary. I am glad your house was on a hill, which helped keep the water away. I like how you connected the flooding to El Nino, the map also help me understand the El Nino effect in different continents and regions.
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