CRUCIAL BRIDGE ENROUTE TO ZAMBIA DESTROYED
The rains brought into Tanzania by the recent tropical cyclone, which swept that part of the Indian Ocean, especially Madagascar and Mozambique, also wreaked havoc in Tanzania when an important traffic link, the bridge over the Msanzi River was completely washed away near Sumbawanga, bringing road traffic to a standstill.
This in particular applies to transit traffic to and from Zambia across the nearby border, as the road itself too suffered major damage, a route often used by tourists travelling by road with their own 4×4’s or on the back of overland truck as part of an organized tour across the continent.
Contractors working on a different section of this road – reported previously here – were then immediately drafted in by the local administration to assess the extensive damage and commence repairs, assisted by the local population whose livelihood depends on traffic flowing both ways.
The rains were extremely heavy and swept through the Southern part of Tanzania with some rains however even reaching well into Kenya, giving an indication how strong and destructive the cyclone was at sea, before making landfall and losing strength.
