Death toll from Kenya floods almost doubles to 120

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Summary:

• The relentless floods in Kenya have tragically claimed 120 lives, doubling the initial toll, as thousands of households seek refuge in makeshift camps.

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The death toll in Kenya, resulting from devastating floods, has nearly doubled to 120, according to a government official’s statement on Tuesday.

Raymond Omollo, a top official from the interior ministry, revealed that over 89,000 households have been displaced, seeking refuge in more than 112 camps. The flash floods, attributed to torrential rains associated with the El Nino weather pattern, are affecting Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa.

The floods are compounding the humanitarian crisis in the region, following the severe drought of the past four decades that left millions hungry. Omollo specified that four counties in eastern Kenya are the hardest hit, with an additional 10 on high alert.

Kenyan President William Ruto chaired an emergency cabinet meeting on Monday, committing to release significant funds to the affected areas. After the meeting, his office stated that 76 Kenyans had lost their lives, and over 35,000 households had been displaced.

Attributing the crisis to the above-normal precipitation linked to El Nino, the statement outlined the widespread impact on lives, displacement, disease outbreaks, infrastructure and property destruction, and prolonged power outages across Kenya and the broader Eastern Africa region.

Highlighting the vulnerability of the Horn of Africa to climate change, President Ruto, in an address to the European Parliament, emphasized Africa’s position “at the forefront of environmental vulnerability” ahead of the UN’s COP28 climate summit in Dubai.

Somalia reported a death toll close to 100 from flash floods, with over 700,000 displaced and almost two million people affected. Ethiopia also experienced the impact, with 43 reported deaths due to floods, heavy rainfall, and landslides, as per the UN’s OCHA.

A report by UK-based charity Save the Children on Tuesday revealed that extreme weather events in climate-vulnerable countries led to over 27 million children experiencing hunger in the previous year. The report noted that children comprised nearly half of the 57 million people pushed into crisis levels of acute food insecurity or worse across 12 countries due to extreme weather in 2022, according to data from the IPC hunger monitoring system.

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