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Kenyan flooding, mudslides blamed for 34 deaths

Rains in parts of Somalia, South Sudan and Kenya are expected for 4 to 6 more weeks

Passengers from stranded vehicles stand next to the debris from floodwaters on the road from Kapenguria, in West Pokot county, in western Kenya on Saturday. (The Associated Press)

Heavy rains unleashed overnight floods that have killed 34 people in western Kenya, including 29 feared buried in mudslides, authorities said Saturday.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi said 17 people died in a mudslide in the village of Takmal in the Pokot Central district, while 12 others lost their lives in mudslides in the villages of Parua and Tapach in Pokot South.

West Pokot County Commissioner Apollo Okello said five other people died when their car was swept away on the road between Kitale and Lodwar after two rivers overflowed their banks.

More than 1 million people in East Africa have been affected by flooding after higher-than-normal rainfall.

The International Rescue Committee said this month that many people had been reeling from an earlier severe drought. Now rains in parts of Somalia, South Sudan and Kenya are expected for four to six more weeks.

People gather near a road that was destroyed by heavy rain near Kapenguria, West Pokot County in northwestern Kenya on Saturday. (EPA-EFE/STR)

The latest deaths in Kenya bring to 72 the number of people who have died in a month and a half due to flooding-related causes.

The torrential rain is uncommon for this time of year. Experts have said the changing weather patterns have a huge impact because close to 100 per cent of Kenya’s agriculture is rain-fed.

Source: AP

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