From Fear to Hope: Save the children’s Hanang Mudslide Response

Relentless rains and the partial collapse of Mount Hanang triggered a devastating mudslide that engulfed Tanzania’s Hanang District, leaving a trail of destruction and displacing hundreds. The tragedy, fueled by El Niño-driven heavy rains since late October, claimed at least 89 lives and impacted over 5,600 people.

Homes, shops, and the main bus station in Kateshi were buried under mud, while vital infrastructure like roads, electricity, and water systems suffered severe damage. The worst-hit areas include Ganana, Gendabi, and Kateshi wards, where over 750 acres of crops were destroyed, and livestock perished.

Save the Children secured a total of $400,000 towards the response.
In response to the overwhelming impact on affected communities, Save the Children took immediate action to alleviate the suffering of the affected population and initiate a prompt and effective emergency response. The emergency response team was in the affected areas within 48 hours. Save the Children played a crucial role in mobilizing additional supplies to assess and address the immediate needs and long-term recovery of the affected populations. Using internal funding, our initial response involved supporting the multisector joint needs assessments and providing psychological first aid. Additional resource mobilization efforts resulted with the release of £240,000 from the Start Fund Network, this enabled Save the Children to form a consortium with World Vision and Action Aid to respond to the gaps outlined in the needs assessment.