Kenya: Tourists evacuated

2006-10-26 21:02

Nairobi - About 100 foreign tourists were evacuated on Thursday from luxury hotels and safari lodges in northern Kenya as heavy rains continued to pound the area, unleashing killer floods, said officials.

With torrential downpours inundating Kenya's north and Indian Ocean coast since last week, officials said the flooding death toll had climbed by five to 15 from Wednesday's count of 10 and that thousands had been displaced.

In the north-central region of Isiolo, a popular destination for tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of wildlife at one of three game reserves, the Ewaso Nyiro burst its banks and flooded two hostelries, said officials.

About 100 US, European and Japanese tourists were evacuated from the Larsen Camp and Samburu Lodge in Isiolo, about 200km north of Nairobi, and moved to higher ground, a said hotel security official.

"About 100 tourists were evacuated from the hotels after they were submerged by flood water from the nearby river.

"They had to be moved for their safety, the whole place was flooded."

Five new fatalities

Meanwhile, Red Cross workers scrambled to recover drowning victims and distribute relief supplies to more than 4 500 people who were forced to flee their homes in Isiolo.

Kenyan Red Cross official Ahmed Mohammed said: "We have confirmed that nine people drowned, but operations continue because we have reports that three other bodies are missing."

The nine deaths he referred to include four that were first reported on Wednesday and five new fatalities that brought the nationwide Kenya death toll from floods since the weekend to 15.

Six others died in and around the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa, about 500km southeast of Nairobi, officials there said on Wednesday.

Around Mombasa, the Red Cross said more than 2 000 people had been displaced with flood waters destroying roads and bridges and inundating schools in the low-lying coastal region.

The onset of seasonal and often heavy rains in recent weeks has compounded problems already brought by a recent drought as floods have inundated some of the worst-affected areas, displacing thousands of people.

- SAPA