IRIN: Thousands of people have been displaced in parts of Kenya’s Rift Valley Province as floodwaters continue to submerge houses and schools and destroy crops. They are among more than 240,000 people throughout eastern Africa who are estimated to be affected by seasonal flooding.An estimated 642 households have been affected by flooding in the Kenyan districts of Baringo and Marigat, with at least five schools being submerged, according to data from the Kenya Red Cross Society
(KRCS).
The floods have caused latrines to overflow, contaminating water sources. “I have no better water to drink. I have to use what is readily available, even if I am aware of the risk of contracting diseases,” Lydiah Kuyale, a resident of Loropil Village in Marigat, told IRIN as she fetched flood water for domestic use.
Kuyale’s retail kiosk was among those inundated. But even as her family seeks refuge at a neighbour’s house, her main worry is her son’s education. “If the classes remain submerged, how will my son get to school?” she asked. Her son is set to take the final primary school exam later this year...
A 1998 US military photo of flooding in Kenya's Rift Valley
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