Six die in floods in Kenya

2004-05-04 09:50

Nairobi - At least six people have drowned and several thousands displaced by floods following torrential rains currently hitting Kenya.

"Two people have been confirmed dead in Nairobi," said the head of National Disaster Operations, Bonventure Wendo.

Wendo said: "Floods have forced thousands of people living in slum areas to move to higher grounds because they have erected their structures near rivers, mostly in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi."

The East African Standard newspaper also reported on Tuesday that two other people drowned in Nairobi on Sunday night. A child drowned in central Kenya and a newly-wed woman died near western Kenya's River Nyando, notorious for bursting its banks during rainy seasons.

The newpaper added that several homes and livestock were swept away, while flights were diverted from Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to Mombasa's Moi International Airport on the Indian Ocean coast.

Commuter railway services to Nairobi's suburbs were also suspended, after tracks were flooded. Roads throughout the country have also been washed away, following two days of heavy rains, the Daily Nation newspaper reported.

The Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) said on Tuesday that up to 3 000 people have been displaced by floods along the banks of the River Nyando.

"We are preparing for up to 60 000 people," KRCS head of Disaster Response, Farid Abdulkadir, said.

Wendo said the government had rushed to flood-prone Budalangi plains, also in western Kenya, to construct dykes to avoid a repeat of suffering wrought by poor planning in the past - a move that has prevented a recurrence of last year's disaster.

The meteorological department warned last month that the country would receive heavier than usual rainfall during the April-May wet season.

- AFP