At least a dozen killed and an estimated 15,000 displaced by flooding in Kenya

Passengers of a bus that was swept away by floodwaters are rescued by boat, near Garissa, northern Kenya, Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Police said some of the passengers managed to escape just before the bus was submerged, while others climbed onto the roof. The incident happened just hours after Kenya’s roads agency announced the closure of another section of the same road that was flooded after the Tana River swelled due to continuing heavy rains. (AP Photo)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Heavy rains pounding different parts of Kenya have led to the deaths of at least 13 people and displaced some 15,000 people, the United Nations said, as forecasters warn that more rains can be expected until June.

The U.N Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, citing the Kenya Red Cross Society, said Thursday that nearly 20,000 people were affected, including an estimated 15,000 people displaced by heavy rains and flash floods across the country since the start of the wet season in mid-March.

The East African country has seen thousands of people killed by flooding in previous rainy seasons, mostly in the lake regions and downstream of major rivers.

The Kenya Red Cross Society told The Associated Press that five major roads were cut off by floods, including Garissa Road in northern Kenya where a bus carrying 51 passengers was swept away on Tuesday. All passengers were rescued.

Kenya’s disaster management agency issued a flood warning to residents of Lamu, Tana River and Garissa counties that are downstream of Tana River after flooding breached dams upstream. Residents have been urged to move to higher grounds.

So far, nine out of 47 counties in the country have reported flooding incidents

Mudslides have been reported in the central regions. On Tuesday four people were killed in Narok county, in the western part of the country.

The Kenya Red Cross Society’s secretary general, Ahmed Idris, told Citizen TV that “lifesaving assistance” including shelter and clean drinking water was being offered to those displaced and are living in camps to avert outbreaks of waterborne diseases.

The rainy season is expected to reach its peak towards the end of April and subside in June, according to the meteorology department.