10 killed in storm-flood in Kenya

Streets in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, have been flooded by storms and flash floods. At least 10 people have died in the natural disaster there. Several houses were also washed away.

Kenya’s local online portal reported on Wednesday (April 24) that heavy rains and flash floods have hit the East African region in the past few weeks. Rainfall has increased due to El Nino. Roads and streets in Nairobi are stuck in flood waters.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja put the death toll from overnight rains at four, a figure discounted by county police boss Adamson Bungei.

Sakaza told a news conference after leading a rescue operation in parts of the capital that an estimated 60,000 people, mostly women and children, were severely affected after the devastating flash floods hit Nairobi.

“Unfortunately, we have lost ten people,” he added. A search is on to trace others who have been reported missing. The following areas were adversely affected: Kibra, Lindi, Mathare 4A and Mathare North, Baba Dogo, Githurai and Zimmermann. This morning with members of Parliament from Nairobi and local leadership among them Mathare, Utali visited several areas in Ruaraka area that were worst affected by the rains.

Kenya Railways said it is temporarily suspending commuter train services. According to the road authorities, four roads in the capital have been partially closed.

The local police commander, Fred Abuga, said that 10 bodies have been recovered so far. Besides, several people are still missing. The county governor’s office in Nairobi said about 60,000 people were affected by the floods, most of them women and children.

The Kenya Meteorological Department has warned that the country may experience heavy to heavy rains until May. Police on Wednesday fired tear gas to disperse angry crowds who blocked a major road demanding government action to deal with the floods.

Late last year, heavy rains and floods in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia killed more than 300 people. From October 1997 to January 1998, more than 6,000 people died in five African countries due to severe floods.

Biberta/Lemon