DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 11 -- AS the country prepares for what meteorologists warn could become one of the strongest El Niño events on record, Tanzanias history tells a bigger story.

The country has suffered devastating floods for decades. Some came during El Niño years. Others did not.

From Dar es Salaams overflowing Msimbazi River to the Lake Victoria Basin, from Tangas washed-away bridges to the southern highlands battered by torrential rains, the same places keep appearing in the countrys flood history.

The pattern points to more than one climate event. It shows how geography, weather systems and human activities keep exposing the same communities whenever heavy rain falls.

According to Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TM...