( CNN ) -- Heavy rains and flooding have killed at least 23 people in Tanzania and displaced more than 4,000 others , state-run media reported . Officials fear the death toll could rise . Three consecutive days of rain , the heaviest in 57 years , caused the flooding , reported the state-run newspaper Daily News , citing the regional commissioner . President Jakaya Kikwete visited a camp for flood victims Thursday in Dar es Salaam . The capital has been inundated with murky water . Shops were shuttered and residents scrambled to find higher ground . The United Nations was working to assess what kind of aid the Tanzanian government will need to cope with the crisis . Philippe Poinsot , director of the United Nations Development Programme in Tanzania , told U.N. Radio that the rains combined with high tide led to disaster in the densely populated coastal city. `` A large number of families have been affected , '' he said . Disaster teams are working to evacuate people from flood-prone areas .
More than 4,000 families have been affected . Thee consecutive days of were heaviest in 57 years , newspaper reports . Comment: