This paper describes an extreme flood event that occurred in the South Pare Mountains in northern Tanzania. A high spatial and temporal resolution data set was gathered in a previously ungauged catchment. This data were analysed using a multi-method approach, to gather information about the processes that generated the flood event. On 1 March 2006, extreme rainfall occurred in the Makanya catchment, (300 km2), where up to 100 mm were recorded in Bangalala village in only 3 h. The flood was devastating, inundating large parts of the flood plain.