THE Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa, walks
past Ihungo Secondary School, which was hit by the earthquake that
occured in Bukoba Municipality Kagera Region. (Photo by PMO)
GRIEF, tears, pain and nagging fear engulfed this Lake Victoria- side municipality yesterday as thousands of residents thronged the Kaitaba Stadium to pay last respects to their fallen relatives. While the sickening memory of Saturday’s 5.7 Richter scale magnitude earthquake still hangs around, the death toll as of yesterday was 16.
Official reports from the region
indicated that apart from the deaths, 170 people still remained at the
hospital beds fighting for their lives while 83 others were treated and
discharged.
Though the actual cost of damages was
yet to be established as we went to press yesterday evening, initial
official reports indicated that about 840 residential houses crumpled
while 1,264 developed cracks.
The Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa,
yesterday addressed of the deceased, the injured and hundreds of Bukoba
residents at the stadium. He assured the tremor’s victims who lost their
properties, including residential houses, that the government will
ensure that they get the necessary assistance to enable them continue to
lead a decent life. “Dear fellow Tanzanians; we gather here in grief
following this tragic accident, which cost lives of 16 Tanzanians and
many more injured.
We must remain united and together
during this period. On behalf of President John Magufuli, I pray for
those who died in the accident and also wish a speedy recovery for those
who got injured.
I also appeal to all wananchi to assist
those in need of shelter and food,” he said. Witnesses who talked to the
‘Daily News’ hinted that a number of those who lost lives in the
horrifying natural catastrophe incident found themselves under the
debris of fallen buildings. Some of them, according to James Kamugisha, a
taxi driver operating in Bukoba Business District, were pinned to the
ground by fallen rubble.
“They shouted for help, however,
everyone around was busy with his or her own life,” he said. The
deceased were identified as Nickson Everson (34) from Hamugembe Ward, in
Bukoba Municipality, Paskazia William (81), Jonas Muyombo (36) from
Hamugembe Ward, Monica Jonathan (56), Alicia Alex (32), Lucia Alex (12)
both from Hamugembe Ward, Saada Abdallah (26) and her baby (2), from
Kyaka in Misenyi District.
Others are Revelina Respicius (14) from
Kanyigo Ward, in Misenyi District, Eirene Kato (10), Aneth Augustine (6)
from Rwome area in Bukoba Municipality, Anna Josephat (63) from Kanyigo
in Misenyi District, Nelson Olestus (3), Areus Msabaha (9) from
Bugandika, in Misenyi District and John Zacharia (35) from Minziro Ward
in Misenyi District. Narrating the ordeal, Ms Happiness Apolinary, who
is nursing her wounds at the Kagera Regional Hospital, said while in her
bedroom, she heard the house trembling and before she had jumped
outside the wall collapsed on her.
Despite serious injuries she sustained
on her back and on the head, she thanked the hospital’s staff for doing
all within their ability to save her life alongside other victims. Ms
Advela Respicius, who lost her son narrated that it was such a big loss,
that she will never forget. Ms Respicius said in her entire life,
Saturday’s incident was the first ever devastating event she
experienced.
The seemingly depressed mother, however,
thanked the government for stepping in and covering some of the
funeral-related costs. Mr Majaliwa also visited and consoled some of the
injured people who were admitted to the Kagera Regional Referral
hospital.
An expert from the Geological Survey of
Tanzania, Mr Gabriel Mbogoni, told the ‘Daily News’ on Saturday that the
Saturday afternoon tremor was the most intensive earthquake ever
experienced in the country before.
According to Mr Mbogoni, this was the
second earthquake to hit Tanzania in recent years, recalling the last
one, which was reported in Bariadi District in Simiyu Region (then part
of Shinyanga Region) in 2000. He said normally, the earthquake never
hits once.
He predicted the possibility of hitting
again the very same area after a couple of days - scientifically known
as aftershocks. Responding on whether the institution released an alert
on the happening, Mr Mbogoni said normally it is impossible for
authorities to issue an early warning.
He observed that even developed
countries have failed to do so. l Meanwhile, MARC NKWAME reports from
Arusha that in the wake of the major tremor that rocked the Lake Zone
over the weekend, two institutions of higher learning both in Tanzania
and the United Kingdom are preparing to start monitoring future tremors
through strategically placed measuring gadgets.
The Arusha-based Nelson Mandela African
Institute of Science and Technology in conjunction with the University
of Glasgow in Scotland will soon embark on a special project to plant
seismic sensors in sensitive areas of the country to monitor future
tremors.
But while that was revealed by the
NM-AIST Vice Chancellor, Professor Burton Mwamila, during the recently
held, Nelson Mandela Week of Innovations in Arusha, the actual progress
towards the tremor monitoring project, which should have started around
this time, is yet to be revealed.
“Give us time; maybe in two or three
days, so that we can come up with an official update on the issue,”
stated the Nelson Mandela University’s Spokesperson, Mr Karimu Meshack,
when speaking to the ‘Daily News’ over the weekend. Now to avert future
natural disastrous surprises, the Arusha based Nelson Mandela Institute
of Science and Technology plans to start monitoring such land activities
in future.
NM-AIST will achieve the goal reportedly
through planting seismic sensors across the nation, especially around
specific land features such as active volcanoes and mountains where
tremors usually originate
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