By Ebi Kesiena
Red Cross officials stated on Monday that floods in Kenya have killed at least 15 people and destroyed scores of houses and farms.
An outbreak of heavy rains has pounded East Africa in the past few days, flooding homes and submerging roads, especially in the bone-dry north, with other parts of the continent experiencing similar conditions.
Confirming the incidence, the Kenya Red Cross said on X, formerly Twitter, that as of yesterday, 15,264 households have been affected, with 15 casualties reported.
‘’More than 1,000 livestock have died while at least 240 acres (97 hectares) of agricultural farmland have been destroyed’’ it added.
The UN’s humanitarian agency, OCHA, said last month that eastern Africa would likely encounter heavier than normal rains over the October-December period because of the El Nino phenomenon.
While Kenya’s Meteorological Department also warned last week that the heavy rains were “likely to be accompanied by gusty winds”.
“The strong winds may blow off roofs, uproot trees and cause structural damages,” it said in an advisory.
In addition, local media has broadcasted images showing flood waters inundating entire villages and sending residents fleeing. Dramatic footage showed a civilian chopper rescuing people from a lorry marooned in Samburu county, some 300 kilometres (190 miles) north of the capital Nairobi.
Since the start of the current rainy season, more than 20 people have died and over 12,000 others have been forced out of their homes in Ethiopia’s Somali region due to flash flooding, the regional government said at the weekend.
At least 14 people have also been killed in Somalia, OCHA said in a situation report released on Saturday.
“At least 47,100 people have relocated to higher grounds to avoid the risk of flooding,” the agency said, adding that the downpours had cut off access to markets and farmland in some areas.
The Horn of Africa is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change, and extreme weather events are occurring with increased frequency and intensity.
Since late 2020, Somalia as well as parts of Ethiopia and Kenya have been suffering the region’s worst drought in 40 years.
The extreme weather affected close to two million people and washed away tens of thousands of livestock in Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
