Floods caused by heavy rains have forced an estimated 2 000 people out of their homes in western Kenya and claimed the at least four lives, officials said on Monday.
”About 2 000 people have been displaced in the Nyando area and they are now living in camps set up by the Red Cross,” said an official of the National Disaster Operation Centre.
”The problem has been taken care of and those displaced are receiving relief supplies,” said the official, who asked not to be named.
He said one person drowned in flood water in Nyando over the weekend and that two other people died in central Kenya when they fell into a swollen river.
A fourth drowning was reported in the Mathare slum area of Nairobi where several ramshackle homes were swept away by flash floods. Floods also destroyed homes in Kibera slum, Nairobi’s largest shanty town.
The government and the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) have advised people living in flood-prone areas to move to higher grounds during the rainy season.
”Floods have hit again and together with the relevant authorities we have started implementing the plan of evacuating people to avoid unnecessary problems,” said KRCS secretary general Mary Kuria.
Kenya’s meteorological department said last month that the country would receive heavier than usual rainfall during the April-May wet season. — Sapa-AFP