IRIN
KENYA: Floods displace thousands as torrential rains persist
4 May 2006


[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United 
Nations]

NAIROBI, 4 May (IRIN) - Flooding caused by heavy rainfall in Kenya has 
displaced thousands, submerged homes and killed several people in 
various parts of the country during the past week, officials said on 
Thursday.

The worst-affected areas were the Indian Ocean coastal region and Nyanza 
and Western provinces, according to Shem Amadi, director of the National 
Disaster Operations Centre in Nairobi, the capital. He said the 
government, as well as the Kenya Red Cross Society, were distributing 
food, shelter material and nonfood relief items to those in need.

Eight drowning deaths have been reported since 25 April. Most of them 
involved people being swept away when they tried to cross swollen 
rivers. Five of the deaths were reported in Migori District in the west, 
and three occurred in Samburu District in the north.

In the port city of Mombasa, Kenya's second largest city, torrential 
rains over the past five days left hundreds of families homeless after 
their homes were submerged. Amadi blamed the flooding in Mombasa on poor 
drainage and the construction of homes in low-lying areas, which 
prevented the runoff from flowing into the sea. "Some of the problems of 
flash floods are being caused by failure to abide by the building code," 
he said. In Kilifi District, north of Mombasa, 3,000 people were 
displaced after flooding submerged their homes. Hundreds of people 
sought shelter in churches and schools.

Flooding also hit Wajir District, one of the regions most severely 
affected by the recent drought. An estimated 10,000 people in Wajir 
moved out of their dwellings when seasonal rivers breached their banks 
and flowed into villages following heavy rainfall.

In Nyanza Province in western Kenya, the swollen Nyando River submerged 
villages in Nyakach and Miwani divisions, Amadi said. About 45 children 
had been admitted to hospital in Butere District, suffering from 
waterborne diseases and malaria. Such illnesses were spreading rapidly 
because of the rains. Hundreds of people in the Khwisero area of Butere 
had also been displaced by floodwaters.

Other flood-affected districts included Siaya, Rachuonyo, Isiolo and 
Malindi. Some 3,000 people in the coastal district of Malindi still 
needed help to rebuild their homes, which were destroyed when the River 
Sabaki coursed into villages three weeks ago, according to Ruth Muriungi 
of the Kenya Red Cross Society.

Amadi said deforestation was one of the factors that had exacerbated 
flooding during the seasonal long rains in Kenya. "Forests used to 
absorb water and slow down the momentum of floodwater during the rains, 
but there has been considerable deforestation in the Nandi Hills, Mau 
Forest, Cherangni Hills and Mount Kenya areas," he said.

Flooding had also destroyed hundreds of hectares of food crops, 
especially in Kenya's western and coastal regions.

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