DAR ES SALAAM, May 7 (Xinhua) -- At least two people have been killed by flash floods triggered by tropical cyclone Hidaya in Kilwa district in the Lindi region in southern Tanzania, an official has said.
Kilwa district commissioner Mohamed Nyundo said on Monday that 39 people have been trapped in wetlands as district authorities were working closely with the Tanzania Fire and Rescue Force to rescue them.
The flash floods that hit the Lindi region overnight on Saturday washed away four bridges along the highway between the port city of Dar es Salaam and the southern regions of Lindi and Mtwara. As a result, the Tanzania Fire and Rescue Force shut down the highway on Sunday.
Minister of Works Innocent Bashungwa ordered the Tanzania National Roads Agency to renovate the damaged bridges within 72 hours beginning Sunday.
Tropical cyclone Hidaya unleashed the devastation hours before it completely lost its strength after its landfall on Mafia Island earlier on Saturday. ■