194 killed in Kenya floods

Nairobi, May 6

Floods and landslides in Kenya have killed nearly 200 people, displaced 1,00,000 and strained critical infrastructure, with unprecedentedly high water levels at two dams forcing the evacuation of villagers at risk, officials said on Wednesday.

The heavy rain, which accelerated in mid-April, is expected to continue in already hard-hit areas in the coming weeks, the Kenya Meteorological Department said in its most recent forecast. May usually marks the end of the rainy season.

Government spokesman Cyrus Oguna said on Twitter that over the past three weeks, floods had displaced 1,00,000 people — complicating efforts to protect against the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed 24 people in the country. The floods and landslides have been concentrated in western Kenya and have so far killed 194 people, Eugene Wamalwa, the minister in charge of relations between the regional leadership and the national government, said. — Reuters