Meteorologia

  • 18 MAIO 2024
Tempo
15º
MIN 13º MÁX 20º

Torrential rains in Kenyan capital leave ten dead

Ten people have died and many more are missing in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where neighbourhoods were flooded after a night of torrential rains that affected 60,000 people, a police official said on Tuesday.

Torrential rains in Kenyan capital leave ten dead
Notícias ao Minuto

18:09 - 24/04/24 por Lusa

Mundo Quénia

"The number of bodies retrieved so far is 10 and we have several others missing," said Fred Abuga, the police commander for central Nairobi's Starehe area.

A total of "60,000 people, mainly women and children, have been severely affected by the sudden and devastating floods that have hit the city," the county government said in a statement, adding that Nairobi was "on the brink of a humanitarian crisis".

The swollen waters have hit slums such as Mathare as well as affluent suburbs like Runda, home to the regional headquarters of the United Nations.

In Nairobi, the overnight torrential rains caused the rivers Athi, Ngong and the Nairobi rivers to burst their banks.

In the Mathare slum, one of the worst-hit areas, some residents were seen wading through waist-deep water, according to images released by the Kenya Red Cross.

Other images posted on social media showed people sheltering on the corrugated iron roofs of their makeshift homes.

"We have over 10 people who are still missing, we believe they drowned yesterday (Tuesday) night," said Thomas Adika, a resident who was helping with the search effort on Wednesday.

Local residents said the missing were swept away when a nearby river burst its banks, taking with it homes that were built on its edge.

Several major roads were flooded and commuter train services were suspended.

Kenya has been hit by weeks of heavy rains across East Africa, where the rainy season has been intensified by the El Nino weather phenomenon.

As of April 18, the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) reported that at least 32 people had died and more than 40,000 displaced across the country since the rainy season began in March.

Read Also: NGOs denounce 118 deaths at the hands of Kenyan police (Portuguese version)

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