El Nino aftermath: 174 dead, seven counties at risk of food insecurity

Floods wreck havoc in Coastal region.[Kelvin Karani,Standard]

More than 170 people died from the El Nino floods across the country, the government now says.

Forty-one of those were children, and 133 were adults. 

The rains which have significantly reduced also led to the loss of over 6,000 livestock and resulted in damage to crops estimated to cost Sh16.3 billion.  

At least seven counties are at risk of food insecurity owing to the destruction by floods including Lamu, Tana River, Garissa, Mandera, Wajir, Homabay, and Kitui.

But, the National El-Nino Flood Emergency and Disaster Response team says recovery efforts are underway, including road repairs and reconstruction of damaged school infrastructure. 

“Road repair efforts are ongoing, with notable progress on the Gamba – Witu road in Tana River County and Kona Punda–Mororo road in Garissa County,” the disaster response team noted. 

At least 7,878 schools affected in the wake of the floods are also undergoing reconstruction ahead of school reopening next week. 

The Disaster Response team, in a statement on Friday, January 5, said more than 9,800 affected households have also received funds from the Cash transfer programs, to aid in their daily needs. 

Food has also been distributed to the affected counties to help vulnerable households. 

The government says we may not be out of the woods yet, but the Kenya Meteorological Department predicts dry and sunny conditions in most parts of the country. 

“But specific regions including the Lake Victoria basin, Southern Rift Valley, South-Eastern lowlands, Highlands East of the Rift Valley, and South Coast region are expected to experience sporadic rainfall,” Kenya MET said. 

The El Nino rains begun in October 2023.