Floods in Kenya have resulted in the deaths of at least 170 people, and over 600,000 have been displaced since heavy rainfall began in November.
The North-eastern Mandera county inhabitants have called for help. “We don’t have food. That is our main problem. We don’t have mosquito nets, we have nothing to sleep on, and there are snakes. We are complaining because there is a woman who gave birth without medical help, and an older woman broke her arm. There was nobody to treat her. When a child suffers, they ask their father for help. We are asking our government for help.”
So far, three regions, the Coast, Northern, and Central Kenya, have been confirmed to be the worst hit since the start of the rainy season. This year, the rainy season has intensified due to a meteorological phenomenon called El Niño, which is generally associated with rising temperatures, droughts in some parts of the world, and heavy rains in others.
The Kenyan meteorological department has warned that heavy rains will continue into the new year and issued a warning for people living in lowlands and flood-prone areas to evacuate to prevent further losses.
Kenyan President William Ruto stated in early December that 38 of Kenya’s 47 counties were affected by the floods. Kenya’s military continues nationwide efforts to evacuate hundreds of people trapped by rising waters, and in counties affected by floods like Mandera, food is distributed to the displaced.
On his visit to the county on the December 13, the UK High Commissioner to Kenya, Neil Wigan, said that Climate change is one of the toughest challenges facing everyone in the world, but more crucial in places like Northern Kenya where the impact of the drought has caused loss of life, livestock, and people’s livelihood.
He also said they were committed to the short-term consequences like cash grants, food, medicine, and other vital supplies, and building systems nationally and internationally to deal with the effects of climate change
