Kenya – 100,000 Affected by Floods Says UN

by in Africa, News

Flooding across Kenya in the month of October has left at least 29 people dead and affected more than 101,000, according to the UN.

Floods have blocked roads in floods Tana River County, Kenya, October 2019. Photo: Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS)

In a report of 30 October, 2019, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said heavy rain since the start of the short rains season in early October has led to riverine and flash floods, rock falls, mudslides and landslides.

More than 101,000 people have been affected, mainly in the north-eastern, central, and coastal regions, according to the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). Wajir County has been particularly hard-hit, with at least 43,000 people affected. Other affected counties include Marsabit, Mandera, Turkana, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kitui, Meru, Kajiado, Kwale, Nandi, Mombasa, Murang’a and Busia.

The KRCS has confirmed that at least 14,000 people have been displaced from their homes in low-lying areas where rivers have burst their banks.

At least 29 flood-related deaths have been reported and the death toll and number of people displaced is expected to rise in the days ahead as further information is received and verified from affected areas.

Nearly 400 hectares of farmland has been damaged and 21,710 livestock washed away, according to the KRCS, severely impacting livelihoods, including in areas already facing challenges due to drought.

Furthermore flooding has damaged or destroyed key infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools and health facilities.

The UN report said: “At least 52 schools are inaccessible in Mandera and Wajir counties and some 14 health facilities cannot be reached in Mandera, Wajir and Marsabit. Many parts of Mombasa County have reported power outages caused by fallen electricity pylons or water-soaked transformers. Two bridges, including one linking Diani and Lungalunga at Kinondoni and the main bridge linking Tanzania and Kenya at Mihogoni trading centre, have been badly damaged. In Lodwar town and surrounding areas in Turkana County, nine out of 12 water boreholes were destroyed, impacting about 70,000 people.”

The rains -driven by the strong positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)- are expected to continue in the days and weeks ahead, with most parts of the country likely to experience above average rainfall until early December 2019, according to the Kenyan Meteorological Department.

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