ENVIRONMENT-KENYA: El Nino Rains Wreak Havoc On Homes, Roads

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Judith Achieng'

NAIROBI, Jan 24 1998 (IPS) - Torrential rains continue to pour down in Kenya, bringing the capital Nairobi almost to a standstill and causing massive damage throughout the country.

Weather experts, who say the abnormal rains are due to El Nino which has affected weather patterns around the globe, had predicted that Nairobi would be spared from the heavy rains which caused floods in other regions of the country.

Residents in the capital city therefore, were taken by surprise when heavy rains flooded streets in the city causing schools and businesses to close. In the city’s slum areas, more than 100,000 people risk losing their homes.

“I have never seen nything like this before,” one woman living in a Nairobi estate was quoted as saying. The woman was depicted on the front page of one daily newspaper inside her house, knee-deep in water, a child perched on her back, gesturing in despair.

The narrow city roads have been the scenes of traffic jams. “We spend most of our working time on the road,” said one motorist.

Throughout the East African nation, communications links — electricity and telephone lines have been destroyed — bridges destroyed and parts of the country have been cut off.

According to weekend reports, the Nairobi-Mombasa highway was closed indefinitely after a 30-kilometre stretch was damaged by flash floods. The road closed following the collapse of a bridge 240 kilometres south-east of Nairobi.

In western Kenya, the Malaba-Torro(Uganda) highway has also been closed to traffic following the washing away of th alaba border post bridge.

A spokesman for the Kenya Power and Lighting Company said trees falling on power conductors were the main cause of damage leaving large areas without electricity. Flood waters have also displaced electricity poles, while others have been knocked down by vehicles due to poor visibility. “We are trying what we can to respond to this emergency situation,” the spokesman said.

So far, three provinces — North Eastern, Eastern and Coastal Provinces — have been cut off from the rest of the country by landslides and the only means of transport available to these places are by air and rail.

Kenya’s tourism sector has been badly affected by the floods which have also caused etensive damage in Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia. “We have suspended all safari due to the poor state of the infrastructure,” said Karl Heinz Strauss, one of the directors of the Kenya Association of Tourist Operators (KATO).

Tourism is Kenya’s second highest income earner, bringing in 24 billion Kenyan Shillings (about 374 million U.S. Dollars) annually. Agriculture, which is the country’s mainstay, has simmilarly been affected.

According to officials in the Kenyan metereological department, the heavy rains and floods will be followed by a severe drought starting in June.

Newly appointed Agriculture Minister, Musalia Mudavadi, says the combination of the heavy rains, floods and impending drought will hamper crop production nationwide. “This year we expect poor crop returns,” he said.

Other key players in the food production industry also have expressed concern over the effects of the heavy rains on the industry. “We expect to have a major grain shortage this year,” said Duncan Ndegwa, who heads Kenya’s largest maize miller, the Unga Group Limited.

A report by the Famine Early Warning System section of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Regional Economic Development Services office here, says maize production is expected to drop from a 1991-96 average of 2.22 million metric tonnes to 1.83 million tonnes, a reduction of about 20 percent. Kenya, therefore, may have to import maize, which is the country’s staple food.

The heavy rains first hit Kenya and neighbouring Somalia in November last year, displacing more than 50,000 people from their homes. If the rains continue, more than 500,000 people could be left homeless nationwide, officials predict.

President Daniel Arap Moi’s government, which wa returned to power in the December elections, has promised to give priority to the repair of damaged roads and bridges.

But the Central Bank governor has indicated that the government may have to turn to external donors for the funds. “It will take the Ministry of Works a lot of money to repair the roads. Currently, the government revenue falls far short of expenditure,” Micah Cheserem, the Bank’s governor, said.