Elias Sempindo, 72, thought he would spend his twilight years doting on his grandchildren; instead, the retired medical officer is back treating patients at a clinic in Morogoro, 190km west of Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.

At least 28,000 people are dependent on emergency food and other relief supplies in the central Tanzanian regions of Dodoma and Morogoro following floods, which also damaged transport infrastructure, according to officials.