ActionAid calls on Kenya government to declare flood emergency
Source: ActionAid - UK
ActionAid has called on the Kenyan government to
declare a state of national emergency to deal with the floods devastating many parts of the country."The President needs to prioritise this immediately – things are getting
out of control," said Joyce Umbima, director of ActionAid Kenya."We need to deal with this problem head-on, and bring in some specialist expertise. People are
suffering terribly. "Many people are still out in the open and torrential rains have continued overnight, so they have been exposed to constant rain. They are now at risk
of disease and landslides are becoming a problem."ActionAid has responded to the floods hitting the Horn of Africa, prioritising Garissa and Ijara districts in north eastern
Kenya. Tarpaulins, blankets, jerry cans, water treatment tablets, utensils and transport are being provided to some of the 300,000 people who have been displaced from their
homes."This will help to provide much needed shelter and clean water to people," said Zvidzai Maburutse, who is coordinating ActionAid’s emergency relief
effort."The floods have cut off whole areas so these supplies will be welcome for some of the poorest people." In Garissa, livestock have been swept away,
schools are closed and people are living in the open. Ninety people were airlifted to safety. Seven people are reported dead and 20 are missing.In Ijara there is an acute food shortage,
communications and roads have been cut off and there has been no emergency aid until now. Health authorities are seeing a sharp rise in diarrhoea and there are fears of an outbreak of cholera
and respiratory tract infections.The authorities are now worried about landslides in some parts of the country and have urged people to move to higher ground away from river banks and dams,
which are in danger of bursting.
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
