Floods wreak havoc in Kenya

2005-05-03 10:54

Nairobi - Floods caused by heavy rains have displaced 25 000 Somali refugees living in a camp in Kenya, killing a young boy and leaving three others injured, the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the flooding, which began on Thursday, had also sparked fears of disease outbreaks at the Ifo camp in north-eastern Kenya where 53 000 Somalis are now living.

"A four-year-old boy of Somali nationality died, three others were wounded when their shelter collapsed," UNHCR spokesperson Emmanuel Nyabera said.

"We are monitoring the situation and about 1 000 families (about 5 000 people) have already recieved non-food items," he said.

Ifo is one of three sites that comprise the larger Dadaab refugee camp near the Kenya-Somalia border and some of the displaced from Ifo are now living with relatives on higher ground at the other two locations, Nyabera said.

"We have fears of an outbreak of water-borne disease because there is water all over the place, but we are working with other medical agencies to ensure everything is okay," he said.

- AFP