The Kenyan government announced on Tuesday, November 28, 2023, that at least 120 people have lost their lives due to the torrential rains caused by El Niño, which has been affecting the Horn of Africa for several weeks. The meteorological phenomenon has led to the displacement of nearly 90,000 families in various regions of Kenya.
Images of devastation are echoing across Kenya, with ground-level houses engulfed by floods, thatched-roof huts barely visible above the water, and roads partially collapsed as if consumed by the deluge, portraying the despair on the faces of the affected.
In an updated and grim report, the Kenyan Ministry of Interior has confirmed approximately 120 deaths attributed to the El Niño weather phenomenon throughout the country, with over 89,000 families seeking refuge in about a hundred camps. On Monday, November 27, President William Ruto pledged to inject several million euros into the humanitarian response.
The impact of the heavy rains is not limited to Kenya, as Ethiopia and Somalia are also grappling with the aftermath. Since November 12, the Somali government declared a state of emergency following the death of over a hundred people and 700,000 displaced individuals left without shelter.
The United Nations labeled these events as the “flood of the century” in the Horn of Africa, which had just emerged from one of the most severe droughts of the last forty years. The unfolding humanitarian crisis necessitates urgent attention and coordinated efforts to alleviate the suffering of the affected populations.