After 118 deaths in Kenya, deadly floods threaten the Horn of Africa
While Kenya continues to mourn its dead following devastating floods that have claimed 118 lives according to the latest report, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is warning that torrential rain could hit at least three other countries in the Horn of Africa in the coming days.
The death toll from flooding is rising in Kenya as torrential rain continues to batter several counties in this East African country. The toll rose on Monday 29 April after a dam broke near the town of Mai Mahiu in Nakuru county in the Rift Valley, around 100km north-west of Nairobi. The “provisional death toll” drawn up by Susan Kihika, the governor of Nakuru county, is 42.
Many victims are still trapped in the mud, Governor Kihika warned. The bursting of the dam brings the death toll from the Kenyan floods to 118. Last Friday, the Kenyan central government put the death toll at 76, mainly in the capital Nairobi.
Thousands displaced in Nairobi
“We offer our sincere condolences to their families and loved ones. The number of displaced people has risen to more than 131,000”, wrote Isaac Maigua Mwaura, spokesman for the Kenyan central government, on the X social network. Last week, heavy rains caused considerable damage to infrastructure in 24 of Kenya’s 47 counties. The situation is still far from under control. And heavy rains are expected to continue to fall in the Horn of Africa over the next few days.
Faced with this crisis, “we are calling for the utmost caution and vigilance throughout the region. It is important to respect safety measures and disaster preparedness protocols in order to limit the damage”, warns the Djibouti-based secretariat of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
El Niño singled out
According to the Igad Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), heavy rainfall is expected during the week of 27 April to 4 May 2024 in central and western Kenya, northern Uganda, southern Ethiopia and central Somalia. “Rainfall forecasts for May suggest an increase in rainfall, particularly in the eastern part of the Greater Horn of Africa region. This poses a continuing risk of flooding in sensitive areas such as the Juba-Shebelle basins (between Ethiopia and Somalia, editor’s note) and urban centres in areas where there is a high probability of above-average rainfall”, says ICPAC.
These torrential rains follow five years of intense drought across the Horn of Africa. Scientists attribute this sudden and deadly change to El Niño. This climatic phenomenon results in a rise in the surface temperature of the water in the eastern Pacific Ocean, around the equator. El Niño causes droughts in some regions and floods in others.
