Floods sweep away minibus
2006-04-23 22:13
Nairobi - At least three people were killed on Sunday when floods swept away a minibus carrying 20 passengers in a swollen river in strife-torn northern Kenya, police and humanitarian workers said.
Police said the minibus was travelling in Maralal township in the northern part of the Rift Valley province, about 400km north of Nairobi, to Nyahuaru trading post when it got stuck and was swept away in a flooded river.
A police official in the region, who requested anonymity, said three people - a driver and two passengers - had died while residents were trying to save the 17 others who were stranded on top of the vehicle.
"There have been heavy rains in the area and as a result many rivers and streams have flooded," Farid Abdulkadir, the head of disaster operations at Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) said.
Flooding has also been reported in parts of coastal and northern Kenya, the epicenter of the drought that has ravaged five countries in the region and put at risk some 15 million people, eight million of whom need emergency supplies.
In northern Kenya alone, intertribe clashes and flooding have affected at least 10 000 people, most of whom are in dire need of humanitarian supplies.
Last week, the government said at least 10 000 people in Malindi district on the Indian Ocean coast have been affected by the flooding of the Sabaki River, 3 000 of whom have been displaced and are in dire need of assistance, they said.
The KRCS has warned that flooding could cause an outbreak of waterborne diseases in several areas.