Investigating the Effect of Winds and Storms on Shoreline Erosion along the Coast of Tanzania

Wind data spanning 28 years (1977-2004) from four meteorological stations (Tanga, Zanzibar, Dar es Salaam and Mtwara) were analyzed to elucidate the effect of winds on coastal erosion along the coast of Tanzania. The investigation entailed wavelet analysis of the time series of winds which were related with past erosion events at each site. The study also analyzed qualitatively the incidences of tropical storms in relation to coastal erosion events along the coast. The results revealed that most of the critical erosion incidents in the past few decades were associated with periods of occurrence of extreme wind speeds and tropical storms. Furthermore, the results indicated that the wind speeds and the frequency and intensity of tropical storms had generally been increasing during the past three decades. The findings were consistent to those recently reported for the coast of Dar es Salaam. The increasing trends of winds and storms are considered to have direct impact on the wave climate with increased risk of shoreline wave-induced erosion that is already affecting relatively many parts of Tanzania.