Kenya intensifies response to El Nino floods as death toll climbs to 70

NAIROBI — Kenyan President William Ruto announced on Saturday the government will avail of additional funds and deploy the military to bolster the response to raging floods linked to the ongoing El Nino rains.

Speaking after chairing a multiagency meeting in the capital Nairobi, Ruto said the government has set aside 2.4 billion shillings ($15.69 million) for emergency assistance to flood victims.

The death toll from flooding has risen to 70, Ruto said, adding that 36,160 households had been displaced as a result of torrential rains pounding the country.

"The ongoing rains have resulted in an emergency situation in the country. Trucks have been stuck with food, medicine, and fuel. Roads have been destroyed especially in northern Kenya."

Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia are among some of the Horn of Africa countries that are currently grappling with severe flooding linked to the El Nino weather phenomenon.

Somalia's state news agency SONNA said on Saturday the number of people killed by floods from heavy rains had climbed to 96, adding the figure had been confirmed by Mahamuud Moallim, head of the country's disaster management agency.

The three countries have just emerged from a prolonged dry spell marked by five failed consecutive rainy seasons that decimated crops, livestock, and livelihoods of civilians.

According to the latest weather forecast from the Kenya Meteorological Department, the El Nino rains could extend to January and are likely to cause havoc in urban centers and semiarid lowlands.

In addition to the loss of lives, cattle, and food crops, the El Nino rains have destroyed roads and bridges in the semiarid northern, southeastern and coastal countries, disconnecting them from the rest of the country.

Ruto said a multiagency response team that includes the military will begin airlifting food, clean water and medicine and provide temporary shelter to flood victims.

State departments, including water, energy, roads, and health, have been activated to monitor the situation and deploy emergency aid to households marooned by floods, he said.

Ruto said the El Nino rains were expected to intensify in the coming days, leading to landslides and overflowing of dams and rivers while posing danger to communities downstream.

He appealed to residents in the landslide-prone highlands to relocate to safer grounds, adding that communities living close to river banks would be evacuated to shield them from floods.

Xinhua