ISIOLO-NAIROBI, 10 March 2010 (IRIN) - At least 10,000 people in Kenya have been displaced by flooding, mainly in the north, which has prompted fears of an outbreak of waterborne diseases. Hundreds of heads of livestock have drowned or gone missing and dozens of houses and business stalls are submerged.

Of the displaced, 2,100 are in Mandera in the northeast and 3,600 in Lokori region in Turkana in the northwest, the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) communications manager, Titus Mung'ou, told IRIN on 9 March. "In Mandera, flooding from the River Daua is ongoing. The entire clean water system is now un-operational," said Mung'ou.

According to Mandera residents, heavy rains almost blocked off the main road there. Ibrahim Ahmed Elmi, a resident of Mandera's Arabiya village, said: "Water smashed school toilets and buildings, and a mosque."

About 500 head of livestock drowned in the sudden rains while out for pasture, Da'ad Abdi Madey of the Mandera Town Council added.

In the central northern region of Samburu, the local water engineer, Hussein Quresh, told IRIN that a water pump serving thousands of residents in the Archers Post area had been destroyed, forcing reliance on inadequate water trucks. Water chlorination products are being provided to prevent an outbreak of waterborne diseases, he added.

An officer with the Arid Lands Resource Management Project in neighbouring Isiolo, Lordman Lekalkalai, said disaster committees there and in Garbatulla had been mobilized in anticipation of a deteriorating situation, with relief food distribution being hastened before all roads are cut off.

Residents expressed concerns over a possible food shortage. "Traders are going to increase food prices because it is expensive to transport the items to areas far from the town," Adan Jirma, a resident of Merti, 250km from Isiolo Town, told IRIN.

Flood alerts

Meanwhile, flood alerts have been issued in the low-lying coastal areas of Tana Delta and western parts along River Nyando. The water level at Nyando was less than 2m below flooding level, Mung'ou told IRIN.

"People have been given whistles and loud speakers to rally others to move to higher ground," he said, adding that evacuation centres had been identified.

The Tana Delta region could be adversely affected when the Kenya Electricity Generating Company opens flood gates once its hydroelectric dams are full to capacity, he warned.

Similar warnings have been issued in the mountainous western area of Mt Elgon after a bridge was washed away; the neighbouring region in eastern Uganda experienced a landslide that killed hundreds last week.

Major response challenges include difficulty accessing areas cut off by flooding, such as Lokori; water contamination in the northeast, and asking people to move to safer ground in Mount Elgon, said Mung'ou.

"While we have responded to the needs of some of the people... these are just the initial stages. If the Kenya Meteorological Department's predictions that the torrential rains will continue for two months are right, then an internal and external appeal for assistance may be needed," he said. The Kenya Meteorological Department recently forecast "enhanced" March to May long rains in most of the country.

So far, at least 17 people have died in flooding, lightning- and storm-related incidents, according to KRCS.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Tanzania, dozens of people were left homeless and transport disrupted following flooding in the northern region of Mwanza, officials said.

Mwanza Regional Commissioner, Abbas Kandoro, told IRIN by telephone that several bridges were swept away in the rains. The Tanzania Meteorological Agency last week warned that several parts of the country would experience above-normal March to May rains. Authorities have urged people to relocate from the lowlands in the meantime.

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