Floods continue to cause hardship for communities in Kenya, where authorities report flooding has impacted around 5,000 families in the west and northeast of the country over the last week.
Flooding has affected wide areas of the country since March. Kenya Red Cross reported that data collected on 27 March showed 36,432 people affected across the country.
In recent days flooding has impacted areas of Mandera County in the northeast of the country, close to the border with Somalia. Kenya Red Cross reported over 2,000 families were impacted after flooding began around 21 April. At the beginning of April, flooding cut roads in areas around Kutulo.
Heavy rain since 23 April has caused several rivers to overflow in Kisumu County in the west of Kenya. On 24 April heavy rain caused the Maenya River to break its banks, flooding areas of Kolwa Central and displacing over 600 families. Local government and media later reported other areas were affected in Kisumu West and Kisumu East, with a total of 725 families displaced.
The Nyando River broke its banks on 30 April, flooding areas of Nyando Sub-County, in particular around Ahero. Areas of Nyakach were also flooded. In a statement of 30 April, Kisumu governor Professor Anyang Nyong’o asked all residents in flood-prone areas to move to safe ground immediately.
The Kisumu government reported 1,500 households displaced in Nyando and a total of 2,700 across the county, as of 30 April. Many of the displaced families have lost material possessions, crops and livestock. The governor said the flood victims were in dire need of water, medicine, blankets, mattresses, mosquito nets and food. Heavy rains were expected to continue and more families were likely to be affected, the governor added.
