12 dead as floods displace over 5,000 families in Northern Kenya

After months of drought that devastated lives and livelihoods in the northern parts of Kenya, residents in parts of Marsabit County are staring at another weather-related calamity.

The heavy rain recorded here has covered what was just a few days ago, dry swathes of land in Badan Rero, Godoma, Watiti and Walda in Moyale, Marsabit district.

The floods, cutting off villages from each other, effectively marooning people in circumstances that are less than desirable.

The furry of the floods has caused a break in the transportation links, sweeping away sections of the roads in the county.

They have also destroyed hundreds of manyattas in North Horr. Residents trying to salvage what was spared by the floods and reconstruct their homes amidst the uncertainty of the weather conditions.

The weatherman has predicted that although this March-to-May rain season will be depressed, certain areas, like the North-Eastern areas will likely experience floods.

Residents here have already recorded losses of their livestock, as goats, sheep and cattle, long spared by the drought have been swept away in their hundreds by the floods, and the surviving ones still find themselves caught fighting for their lives in the floods.

“Schools have been destroyed, alongside hospitals and our cattle have been swept away,” one resident told Citizen TV.

The government has been challenged to ensure that those affected still get the urgent help they need.

Currently, the locals are surviving on relief food donated and distributed by the county government, but even the local authorities say soon they will be unable to do much if the infrastructure damages aren't rectified

The latest statistics from 17 counties show 23 infrastructural instalments, mostly roads, have been washed away.

One thousand, one hundred households have been affected, while 4968 households have been displaced by the floods, while cumulatively, 36,432 people across the country are reeling from the impact of the ongoing floods.