Seventy-six people in Kenya have lost their lives to floods triggered by torrential monsoon downpours since March and on Saturday, the government has warned residents to brace up for even heavier rainfall.
Kenya and its East African neighbours have been battered by stronger than usual rain in recent weeks, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern.
According to the government spokesman, Isaac Mwaura on Saturday, he revealed that flash floods have submerged roads and neighbourhoods, leading to the displacement of more than 130,000 people across 24,000 households, many of them in the capital Nairobi.
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In his words, “We deeply regret to announce the tragic loss of an additional six lives in the last 12 hours bringing the total to 76, adding that 29 Kenyans had suffered injuries and 19 been reported missing.
“Nairobi is currently experiencing the highest impact, with a significant death toll of 32 and 16,909 households displaced.”
Mwaura further disclosed that all five dams comprising the Seven Forks hydropower project along the Tana river, Kenya’s longest, were at total capacity.
“There is a prediction of a massive overflow downstream within the next 24 hours. Residents in these areas are advised to move to higher grounds,” he said.
