El Niño floods in Kenya leave 76 dead and thousands displaced

The government of Kenya reported this Monday that the number of people killed this month in the country has increased from 70 to 76 due to heavy rains and floods caused by the meteorological phenomenon of The boy.

Kenyan President William Ruto led a cabinet meeting in Nairobi to assess the “widespread flooding that has unfortunately caused loss of life, displacement of families, outbreaks of disease, destruction of infrastructure and property,” The Presidency indicated in a statement.

“We have lost seventy-six Kenyans due to The boy, while 35,000 households have been displaced. “The most seriously affected areas are in the northeast, east and coast,” explained the official note.

A total of 38 of the country’s 47 counties are in the “alarm stage”which is characterized by flash floods, widespread flooding in low-lying plains, river overflows, landslides, loss of livestock, and destruction of crops and infrastructure.

To help those affected, the Government will mobilize 7 billion shillings (about US$45 million) in order to develop assistance programs.

The Government urged Kenyans to “prioritize safety in your travels during this period, as well as in your homes and workplaces.”

Last Saturday, Ruto met with representatives of the agencies leading the response to this disaster, which he described as “emergency situation”.

Ruto gave instructions to the Armed Forces to provide air resources with the objective of “transport by air any goods needed in different parts of Kenya” hit by the floods.

The president was criticized last month for claiming that the country would not experience El Niño rains, only heavy rainfall that ““They would not be destructive.”

The Kenya Meteorological Department has predicted that the intense rains They will continue until January 2024.

In Kenya, the phenomenon of The boy It is characterized by strong storms that cause flooding, especially along the coastal strip, in areas of the central highlands, the southeastern lowlands and several areas of the northeast and northwest of the country.

El Niño is a change in atmospheric dynamics caused by an increase in the temperature of the Pacific Ocean.

These floods came after the worst drought recorded in the Horn of Africa in the last four decades, a lack of water that left Somalia on the brink of famine and with 6.6 million people under acute food insecurity, according to the UN.