280 killed, 2.8 million affected by East Africa floods, UN says
NAIROBI - At least 280 people have been killed and more than 2.8 million others affected by unusually heavy rainfall and flooding in eastern Africa, the UN humanitarian agency said on Thursday.
The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said homes, infrastructure and livelihoods have been destroyed and damaged in the hardest-hit areas, and the risk of communicable diseases including cholera is rising. "Primarily driven by the Indian Ocean Dipole , the heavy rains are likely to persist into December and to intensify in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda," OCHA said in its latest regional Flash Floods Update. The UN agency said the annual short rains which ordinarily last from October to December have been exceptionally heavy in Kenya and affected more than 160 000 people in 31 of the country's 47 counties.
"At least 132 people have reportedly died, including 72 who were killed by a landslide which buried their homes in West Pokot County," said OCHA. The storms have caused destruction and damage of key infrastructure in Kenya, including houses, health facilities and schools, displacing an unconfirmed number of people and disrupting basic services.
Roads and bridges were damaged, hampering effective humanitarian response efforts in affected areas. In Djibouti, the report says the equivalent of two years' rainfall fell in one day, causing flash floods that have affected up to 250 000 people, including nine people killed. "In many areas, the floods are coming on the back of consecutive droughts, while in others people impacted by the floods are also suffering from conflict and violence," said OCHA.
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