In the midst of the unrelenting floods that are ravaging Kenya, air and sea rescue efforts are underway to save the lives of many people who are stuck in their houses in the western Nyando region.
The important Kisumu-Nairobi highway was rendered impassable on Saturday due to the River Nyando overflowing its banks, drowning multiple settlements.
According to local media, over a thousand households were compelled to evacuate their residences.
Although no casualties were immediately reported, local police said that the water level was still increasing.
Using boats and helicopters, a team comprising the Kenya Red Cross, Kenya Coast Guard Services, and Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) is making its way inside the inundated settlements.
There are concerns that the majority of the families in the affected communities may have spent the night outside in the cold, therefore Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) is airlifting those who have been rescued.
This occurs when more people are being evacuated from flood-prone areas by the authorities.
On Monday, President William Ruto said that the government will provide each impacted household with $70 (£60) to assist them in looking for alternate housing for a period of three months.
According to official statistics, since March, floods have killed 228 people nationwide, leaving 72 individuals unaccounted for.
Cyclone Hidaya, which weakened after making landfall on Saturday, spared Kenya and neighboring Tanzania significant damage.
On April 29, 2024, in Mai Mahiu, in the Rift Valley area of Naivasha, Kenya, a woman reacts as she sits on a tree truck that was brought down after the Old Kijabe Dam burst its banks and produced flash floods that destroyed several settlements. (BBC)
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