Death toll from floods in Kenya reaches 76 since March

Floods caused by torrential monsoon rains have killed 76 people in Kenya since March, the government said on Saturday, as it warned residents to “be prepared for more heavy rains”.

Kenya and its East African neighbors have faced heavier-than-usual rainfall in recent weeks, linked to the El Nino weather pattern.

Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura said Saturday that flash floods had submerged roads and neighborhoods, displacing more than 130,000 people from 24,000 homes, many of them in the capital, Nairobi.

“We are deeply saddened to announce that six additional people have tragically died in the last 12 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 76,” he said, adding that 29 Kenyans were injured and 19 Have been reported missing.

“Nairobi is currently experiencing the greatest impact, with a significant number of deaths at 32 and 16,909 families displaced.”

Mwaura said all five dams comprising the Seven Forks hydropower project on the Tana River, Kenya’s longest, are at total capacity.

“Massive overflow is predicted downstream within the next 24 hours. Residents of these areas are advised to move to higher ground,” he said.

The monsoon has also wreaked havoc in neighboring Tanzania, killing at least 155 people in floods and landslides.

“The situation here is really scary,” said Khatibu Kappara, a resident of the Jangwani neighborhood of Dar es Salaam.

He said, “Many people including me have been affected by the floods. Many people have lost their property due to the floods, with their homes inundated with water, the 35-year-old man told AFP.

In Burundi, one of the planet’s poorest countries, months of relentless rains have displaced some 96,000 people, the United Nations and the government said this month.

Uganda has also been hit by heavy storms that have burst river banks, left two people confirmed dead and displaced several hundred villagers.

Late last year, rains and floods killed more than 300 people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia as the region tried to recover from its worst drought in four decades, which left millions hungry.

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern typically associated with increased heat around the world, causing drought in some parts of the world and heavy rain in others.

The United Nations’ World Meteorological Organization said in March that the latest El Niño was one of the five strongest ever recorded.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – AFP)