By Our
Staff Reporter, Nairobi KENYA
At least
280 people have been killed and more than 2.8 million others affected by
unusually heavy rainfall and flooding in eastern Africa, the United Nations
(UN) humanitarian agency said on Thursday.
The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA) said homes, infrastructure and livelihoods have been destroyed
and damaged in the hardest-hit areas, and the risk of communicable diseases
including cholera is rising.
Flooded city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
"Primarily driven by the Indian Ocean Dipole
(IOD), the heavy rains are likely to persist into December and to intensify in
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda," OCHA said in its latest regional Flash Floods
Update.
The UN agency said the annual short rains which
ordinarily last from October to December have been exceptionally heavy in Kenya
and affected more than 160,000 people in 31 of the country's 47 counties.
"At least 132 people have reportedly died,
including 72 who were killed by a landslide which buried their homes in West
Pokot County," said OCHA.
The storms have caused destruction and damage of
key infrastructure in Kenya, including houses, health facilities and schools,
displacing an unconfirmed number of people and disrupting basic services. Roads
and bridges were damaged, hampering effective humanitarian response efforts in
affected areas.
In Djibouti, the report says the equivalent of two
years' rainfall fell in one day, causing flash floods that have affected up to
250,000 people, including nine people killed.
"In many areas, the floods are coming on the
back of consecutive droughts, while in others people impacted by the floods are
also suffering from conflict and violence," said OCHA.
"As families struggle to cope with these
compounding and complex shocks, there is a high risk of their adopting negative
coping mechanisms, including school drop-out and early marriage," it
warned.
Nairobi, Kenya |
According to OCHA, flooding in Somalia has affected
547,000 people, including an estimated 370,000 who have been displaced and 17
killed. In South Sudan, where 908,000 people have been affected since June, the
flooding has submerged entire communities, destroyed or rendered inaccessible
basic services and markets, and caused crop losses which will result in an
early start of the lean season in January.
The UN agency said more than 420,000 people were
affected by floods from August to October in Sudan, during which 78 people died
and 49,500 homes were destroyed.
OCHA said about 570,000 people have been affected
in Ethiopia, including more than 200,000 displaced, and rains have negatively
affected the harvest season.
In Burundi, it said, 3,100 people were affected by
torrential rains in Munyinga province, while in Uganda, flooding and landslides
have impacted at least 12 districts, including Bundibugyo district, where more
than 4,000 people were affected.
In Tanzania, said the UN agency, the death toll is
over 50, including 10 people who were drowned by a flood-swollen river. - Africa
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