At least 120 people killed in Kenya flooding

The death toll in weeks of flooding in Kenya has risen to at least 120, interior minister Raymond Omollo said on Tuesday.

People from almost 90,000 households have fled the flood waters and are being accommodated in 120 makeshift camps, Omollo added.

“All major dams are being monitored but Kiambere has a meter remaining to overflow,” Omollo said in a statement, referring to the Kiambere Hydroelectric Power Station in Tana River.

“We call on those downstream to move to higher ground even as government enhances power generation to mitigate the challenge.”

Climate impact

Climate change is causing more intense and more frequent extreme weather events, according to scientists. In response, African leaders have proposed new global taxes and changes to international financial institutions to help fund climate change action.

The Kenya Meteorological Department forecast that heavy rainfall will continue until January 2024.

The floods are a result of persistent rain associated with the El Niño weather phenomenon. The country had previously struggled with drought.

Four counties in eastern Kenya – Tana River, Garissa, Wajir and Mandera – are most severely affected, Omollo said.

Thousands of homes have been washed away or are marooned, while farmland has been submerged and tens of thousands of livestock drowned, aid agencies said.

Heavy rain has also been falling in neighbouring Somalia, killing at least 96 people and displacing 700,000.