DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- At least one fisherman was killed, 190 houses were flooded and 60 tour and fishing boats were swept away by heavy rains and strong winds in Tanzania's Zanzibar, an official said on Tuesday.
Makame Khatib, the director of the Zanzibar Disaster Management Commission (ZDMC), said the fisherman died in Uroa coastal village after his boat capsized after it was hit by strong winds in the Indian Ocean.
He said the heavy rains and the strong winds hit the Zanzibar Islands on the Indian Ocean on Saturday and Sunday.
Khatib said most of the houses that were flooded were located in flood risk areas that have been prohibited for construction of houses.
Khalid Salum Mohamed, the State Minister in the Second Vice-President's Office responsible for Policy, Coordination and House of Representatives, urged people to stop building houses in flood-prone areas. ■