NAIROBI, Kenya — Authorities in Kenya report that devastating floods have claimed 18 lives during the past seven days, with law enforcement officials stating Sunday that most victims lost their lives to drowning amid continuing torrential rainfall.
The Interior Ministry reports that flooding has impacted more than 54,000 families throughout the nation, including 6,000 households within Nairobi, the country’s capital city.
Educational facilities and medical centers across numerous regions have been inundated with floodwater, while 17 major roadways remain impassable due to the severe weather conditions.
Landslides have displaced thousands of residents from Kenya’s western Rift Valley region, prompting officials to recommend that communities situated along the lower reaches of the Tana and Athi rivers relocate to elevated areas as water levels continue rising behind the nation’s power-generating dams.
Weather forecasters from the Kenya Meteorological Department have issued warnings that intensified precipitation will persist through the initial half of May.
The current rainy season began in March, bringing widespread devastation across the country and resulting in more than 100 fatalities by the end of that month.
