AFRICA/KENYA - Over 30,000 people in urgent need of aid due to flooding in the country

Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – According to the Kenyan Red Cross Society (KRCS), some 30,000 people are in urgent need of shelter, water, food and healthcare after heavy rainfall caused massive flooding, forcing thousands to leave their homes. Roads and bridges have been either destroyed or severely damaged, cutting off villagers and leaving them without food or potable water, putting them at risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases. The KRCS has begun trucking non-food items to Turkana and Nakuru: blankets, jerry cans, mosquito nets, kitchen sets, soap and water treatment tablets. The situation is very serious and has the potential of becoming an environmental disaster. In some areas roads were completely washed away, and according to the National Disaster Operation Centre (NDOC), the number of deaths is recorded at 21 people. The area most badly affected by the floods is the North Rift Valley region.
In one district, Turkana East, five people died, five bridges were destroyed, many farms and households were damaged, while hundreds of head of livestock perished. The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) chief of emergency, told IRIN: “We are concerned about recurrences of watery diarrhoea and cholera in Lokori, East Turkana. The area already faced an unprecedented outbreak in the month of December and the situation could worsen now.” According to local residents, the roads to Baragoi in Samburu and Kargi in Marsabit, in Eastern Province, are inaccessible. Hundreds of children in Marsabit were still at home and had not reported to school as roads were closed. In Laikipia, more than 200 families had been displaced, and had had their homes and farm produce destroyed, following the heavy rains on January 3. According to weather predictions, the rains will continue into the first week of February. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 7/1/2010)