Kenya Floods Displace Thousands

Continuing heavy downpours have caused the Nyando River to overflow, displacing more than 150 households in Ombaka, with some seeking shelter in a school.

Livestock and hundreds of acres of farmland have also been affected by the flooding.

Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to the deaths of at least 13 people and displaced some 15,000, the United Nations said, as forecasters warned more rains can be expected until June.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, citing the Kenya Red Cross Society, said that nearly 20,000 people have been affected. That includes the estimated 15,000 displaced by heavy rains and flash floods across the country since the start of the wet season in mid-March.

"We, people have really suffered for the last six years every time a flood comes like now, people have been displaced like as we are speaking right now, 162 households have been displaced currently ninety-five are staying at Nyamasao Primary School. The rest out of that 162 are temporarily seeking refuge from their kins; some have moved to rent at the nearest market center," says Augustine Neto Ochieng, government officer.

The East African country has seen thousands of people killed by flooding in previous rainy seasons, mostly in the lake regions and downstream of major rivers.

Kenya’s disaster management agency issued a flood warning to residents of Lamu, Tana River and Garissa counties that are downstream of Tana River after flooding breached dams upstream. Residents have been urged to move to higher ground.

Mudslides have been reported in the central regions. Last Tuesday four people were killed in Narok county, in the western part of the country.

The rainy season is expected to reach its peak towards the end of April and subside in June, according to the meteorology department.