The floods in East Africa are hitting residents and tourists hard. Hundreds of people died in Kenya and Tanzania, and in Kenya more than 165,000 people had to leave their homes.
A helicopter flies over the Masai Mara, a nature reserve in Kenya known for wildlife and safaris. From above you can clearly see that the Talek River has overflowed its banks and flooded large areas of land. Residential houses and hotels are under water. Some tourists are flown by helicopter to a safe location.
Regional and national authorities have been working with the Red Cross, said Michael Koikai, a security officer in the Masai Mara. “This is how we managed to help the people who were trapped by the water.”
Helpers lead tourists wearing life jackets on a rope through waist-high water. A young man who is on his honeymoon in the Masai Mara with his wife says that they were surprised by the amount of water. They woke up in Talek Bush Camp and the river had burst its banks. “We were very scared. And thought, oh dear God, how far will this river spread?”
Dozens of tourists are stranded in the flooded Masai Mara National Reserve.
Other areas are to be evacuated
Streets, residential areas and entire areas of land in Kenya are flooded. It is the rainy season – but it is unusually heavy this year. A big problem: Many dams and water reservoirs in Kenya are in danger of overflowing due to heavy rainfall. The Kenyan Interior Ministry said 178 facilities across the country were affected.
The areas near these dams and reservoirs should now be evacuated. Regions on slopes that are particularly at risk from landslides or mudslides should also be cleared. This also applies to residential areas that are located directly on rivers or other bodies of water. People there are asked to leave their homes within 24 hours. They should find shelter in school buildings, for example.
Mudslide swept away houses
There has already been a dam break: At the beginning of the week, an old dam burst in the Mai Mahiu region, around 60 kilometers north of the capital Nairobi. A huge mudslide swept away houses. Many people were caught in their sleep and had little chance of saving themselves. According to the Kenyan Interior Ministry, 52 bodies have been recovered there so far and 51 people are still missing.
Since March, around 210 deaths have been counted across the country, as the Interior Ministry in Nairobi announced. 22 people died in the last 24 hours alone. 90 people are still missing. More than 165,000 people had to leave their homes because of the floods. In large parts of the country there are repeated power outages because trees fall on lines. In Nairobi, the hum of diesel generators has been heard in many parts of the city for days.
El Niño intensifies the rainy season
The continuous rain also triggered floods and landslides in neighboring Tanzania. At least 155 people died there. The small country of Rwanda is also currently struggling with the consequences of the heavy rains. And even in Somalia, in the Horn of Africa, it rains – normally this is a very dry region. According to local media reports, the rains have destroyed numerous houses there. Hundreds of families are currently homeless.
The usual rainy season from March to May will be intensified this year by the El Niño weather phenomenon. There is no all-clear yet: heavy rain is expected again in the coming days.