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Kenya: Floods, Locusts Put Thousands at Risk of Hunger

Published

6 years ago

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When it rains, it pours. This statement couldn’t be truer in Kenya currently.

In the past few weeks, the unrelenting downpour in many parts of the country has left thousands of people displaced and hungry.

According to the Kenya Red Cross Society, some 25,000 households (around 150,000 people) have been displaced by the current floods.

The most affected are those around the Lake Victoria Basin, the lower River Tana Basin and along River Tana, from Garissa to Hola.

Red Cross notes that 36 out 47 counties have been affected by floods. “Coming at the heels of another flood, in the midst of a locust invasion and the Covid-19 pandemic, the impact is going to be widespread,” Mr Elijah Muli, the Head of Disaster Management at Red Cross, told the Nation.

Before the onset of last year’s October-December rain season, there was a drought that left at least 2.5 million people in need of food aid.

Flooding later affected more than 393,000 individuals according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

According to Mr Muli, there are 19 counties that are currently flooded and have also been invaded by locusts.

“All these people have depleted food reserves. The situation is bleak because they have not had the opportunity to engage in productive activities since last year and right now their farms are flooded,” he said.

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