NAIROBI, KENYA, MAY 1 – The Kenya Meteorological Department has warned that the heavy rains are likely to persist for the entire month of May, raising fears of more devastating effects in the coming days.
Flash floods have already claimed more than 130 lives and submerged roads and neighbourhoods since March, leading to the displacement of more than 130,000 people across 24,000 households, many of them in the capital Nairobi.
70 of fatalities were reported in Mai Mahiu flood tragedy on Monday, one of the hardest-hit areas since the onset of the rainy season.
The excessive rainfall, attributed to the El Niño weather phenomenon, has caused rivers and sewers to overflow, turning roads into waterways and destroying homes.
“May marks the cessation of the ‘Long Rains’ season in several parts of the country, except for the Coastal and Western sectors where rainfall persists into June. The May 2024 outlook predicts near-average to above-average rainfall in several areas,” the department stated even as the Kenya Red Cross worked to rescue people from flooded homes in Kitengela on Wednesday morning following overnight downpour.
President William Ruto who visited Mai Mahiu tragedy site on Tuesday directed anyone living in riparian areas anywhere in the country to move out so as to avoid a disaster.
“We have done all the mapping of all places where landslides are likely to occur and from tomorrow we will have all the people move out of those areas that are riparian land and all those areas that are in danger because the forecast is that rain will continue,” he said.
Nairobi, the Coastal region, Rift Valley, Central and parts of Nyanza are worst hit by the effects of the flood.
In Nairobi, houses were washed away in most of the slum areas such as Mukuru and Mathare, which are built on marginal land along river valleys.
Last week, more than 20 bodies of people who had drowned in the Mathare river were pulled out with several others still missing.
In the aftermath of the downpour, most of the houses in the area were flooded, with some residents trapped on the roofs of their houses.
According to meteorologists, several regions will continue to experience near-average to above-average rainfall throughout May, with occasional thunderstorms anticipated. The Western and Coastal regions, however, are forecasted to endure heavy rains extending into June.
The weatherman has warned that Coastal areas such as Mombasa, Kilifi, Lamu, Kwale, and parts of Tana River are expected to receive near to above-average rainfall, with May signifying the peak of the Long Rains season in this region.
In the Highlands East of the Rift Valley, including Nairobi County, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Kiambu, Meru, Embu, Tharaka Nithi, and eastern Laikipia counties, rainfall is projected throughout the month. However, intense rainfall is anticipated in the first week.
Regions around Lake Victoria, the highlands west of the Rift Valley, and the Central and South Rift Valley are likely to receive above-average rainfall throughout May.
The South-eastern Lowlands, covering Kajiado, Kitui, Makueni, Machakos, Taita Taveta, and parts of Tana River counties, will experience occasional rainfall, with total amounts likely to be near to above-average.
The monsoons have wreaked havoc across neighbouring Tanzania as well, with at least 155 people killed in flooding and landslides.
In Burundi, one of the poorest countries on the planet, around 96,000 people have been displaced by months of relentless rains, the United Nations and the government said this month.
Uganda has also suffered heavy storms that have caused riverbanks to burst, with two deaths confirmed and several hundred villagers displaced.
El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern typically associated with increased heat worldwide, leading to drought in some parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere.
The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said in March that the latest El Nino is one of the five strongest ever recorded.
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