Kenya devastated by natural disasters and COVID-19

On top of battling Coronavirus and a locust invasion that is destroying crops, Kenya is now suffering from some of the worst flooding in generations, adding a third layer of crisis to the East African nation.

According to the Kenya Red Cross, there have been around 116,000 displaced by the floods and an overall 233,000 have been affected. Aside from breaking national records these rains have caused rivers to burst and spill out of their banks, afflicting towns and villages nearby.

Africa’s largest inland body of water is Lake Victoria and it is shared by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. The lake is at its highest level ever recorded at 13.42 meters, having devoured villages surrounding its shores. The Kenyan government has said that it has suffered 237 losses after people were not able to escape the flooding.

Even though schools in Kenya were closed in March due to COVID-19, there are currently over 100 schools filled to the brim with families who lost their property to the floods. Evidently, social distancing is not possible here.

A man named James Owende was shouting outside in the schoolyard. He was saying how he had lost all of his animals to the flood as they have drowned, meaning he can’t work and is not going to make a living for some time. Owende’s case is sadly not alone, as mani in the area depended on their livestock for income.

The Kenya Red Cross is spreading emergency food parcels and donating basic household items like pots and pans, and plastic sheets that can make a temporary shelter. The organization is also donating face masks because of the ongoing pandemic, as well as mosquito nets seeing as there is an enormous locust invasion in the region as well.

On Sunday, Uhuru Kennyatta, Kenya’s president, announced that the government is sending 250 million Kenyan shillings (roughly 2.3 million USD) a week to aid families who have been affected by the economic crisis the three national emergencies have provoked. Kennyatta also stated that 1 billion shillings (around 93.6 USD) have been set aside to provide for flood control measures.

Kenya is not an exception to the countries affected by Coronavirus. As of Saturday, the nation has recorded 63 deaths and 1,888 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There have been certain restrictions put in place, with limited movement in and out of major cities and national curfews lasting from 7pm to 5 am.

83.6% of the workforce in Kenya is comprised of informal laborers, meaning that the majority of this workforce is struggling to find work in the current economy. One of the most important industries in Kenya, the tourist industry, dissolved when international flights stopped on March 25th.

As expected, many scientists have repeatedly pointed to global warming as the leading cause for more and more climate records being broken in the past decade. Guleid Artan, director of the Nairobi-based Climate Prediction and Application Centre, has explained that the higher temperatures global warming has brought to the Indian Ocean suck moisture into the atmosphere, which is then showered over East Africa.

In Uganda, another country that has a shore on Lake Victoria, huge pieces of farmland have broken away are now forming floating islands. These structures are clogging dams that generate most of the power in the region and drain the lake.

Three villages in the area are now partially underwater, there are more mosquitoes that cause malaria, and aggressive hippos are coming inland. This has repeatedly been called “the worst situation that’s the community has experienced—the worst.” The community is becoming very worried about sanitation systems and cholera in the region, seeing as people relied on pit latrines that are now overflowing with water.

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Link to donate to the Kenya Red Cross:

https://www.redcross.or.ke/tenders/2-uncategorised/28-donate

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