Floods threaten up to 750,000 in Kenya
Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Matthew Jones
GENEVA (Reuters) – Up to 750,000 people in Kenya, nearly half of them Somali refugees, could be caught up in flooding and landslides from heavy rains expected to peak in November, the United Nations warned on Friday. … An estimated 4,600 people along the Indian Ocean coast and Kenya’s northeastern region have already fled torrential rainfall, forced to seek shelter in schools and with host families, she told a news briefing. Six people have died in the heavy rains, which the United Nations said were enhanced by the El Nino weather phenomenon. Changing sea temperatures in the Pacific Ocean affect weather around the world by bringing drought to some places, heavy storms or harsh winters to others. El Nino caused abnormally heavy rainfall in 1997/98 in Kenya, where severe drought has also hampered economic growth this year. More than 300,000 mainly Somali refugees in two camps in Kenya are among those at risk, the U.N. refugee agency said. … The overcrowded Dadaab complex of three camps was built to hold some 90,000 people but its population has swollen to three times that — becoming home to more refugees than any other site in the world, according to the UNHCR. …
