More people confirmed dead, basic infrastructure affected in Kenya’s devastating flood

More people have been confirmed dead from devastating floods in Kenya, pushing the death toll higher.

President William Ruto on Saturday announced that seventy people have died in widespread flooding in the country, describing it as an “emergency situation”.

In response to the disaster, Ruto said the cabinet would hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss suggestions on how to manage the crisis.

“Unfortunately we have lost 70 people across Kenya because of these rains and about 36,160 households have been displaced so far,” he said in an address from State House.

“Kenya is already soaked,” he said, adding that the Meteorological Department was forecasting more rains to come, heightening the risk of further flooding.

“Therefore we need to prepare ourselves for the emergency situation that is going to ensue,” he said.

No fewer than eight people were reported to have drowned in southern Kenya as they tried to cross the flooded Muuoni River in Makueni County on Thursday.

Essential infrastructures were also affected as villages were swamped by flood waters.

The Coast, Northern and Central Kenya regions are the worst hit by the El Nino phenomenon.

Heavy flooding, since October, has killed over 100 people in the Horn of Africa and displaced more than 700,000, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The Kenyan government said it plans to send 2.4 billion Kenyan Shillings (about 19 million $) to cushion the effect of the disaster.