Date | April – May 2024 |
---|---|
Location | Kenya, Tanzania |
Type | Floods |
Deaths | 461+ |
Non-fatal injuries | 328+ |
Missing | 75+ |
Displaced | 503,661 |
From 18 April to early May 2024, floods hit Kenya, affecting people in 33 of the 47 counties, [1] while also causing devastation in northern Tanzania.
One of the biggest drivers of heavy rain in East Africa is the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). During a positive phase the waters in the western Indian Ocean are much warmer than normal and this can bring heavier rain regardless of El Niño. However, when both a positive IOD and an El Niño occur at the same time then the rains in East Africa can become extreme. [2] [3]
The capital Nairobi and surrounding areas were particularly affected. [2] The Nairobi River and the Athi River both burst their banks displacing 40,000 people. [4] At least 300 deaths, 188 injuries, 75 missing and 300,000 displaced people were reported. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [1] [10] [11] The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid also reported at least 960 livestock and 24 thousand acres of farmland were flooded. [12]
In the morning hours of 29 April, a railway embankment failed near Mai Mahiu, with the resulting flood killing an additional 61 people. [13]
Schools in Kenya were also barred from re-opening for the second term until further notice. [14]
Floods in northern Tanzania killed 161 people, injured 250 others, damaged over 10,000 houses and affected 210,000 people in 51,000 households. [15] [16]
Residents were asked to move to higher ground for their own safety. People living in dangerous areas around the country will be moved to land provided by the National Youth Service. Military and the national government were mobilized to work with counties to support those in distress. Kiambu county announced measures to mitigate the situation, including building inspections. [17]
In early May, the Kenyan government ordered people living near 178 dams and reservoirs to evacuate. The ministry established temporary shelters, food and essentials for evacuees. [18] President William Ruto declared a public holiday on 10 May to mourn the victims of the floods. [19]
The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), also known as the Indian Niño, is an irregular oscillation of sea surface temperatures in which the western Indian Ocean becomes alternately warmer and then colder than the eastern part of the ocean.
The 2010 Colombo floods were an isolated incident that took place between 10 November and 11 November 2010 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. As a low-pressure area developed over the city, up to 490 mm (19.3 in) of rain fell during the short period of 15 hours overnight, causing widespread damage and flooding in the area; the highest amount of rainfall in 18 years. A joint Government-UN assessment was launched on the 13th to understand the level of damage in the affected areas.
From December 2016 and continuing until May 2017, much of western and central South America was plagued by persistent heavy rain events. In Peru, one of the most severely impacted nations, it has been referred to as the 2017 Coastal Niño. The flooding was preceded by drought-like conditions throughout the region for much of 2016 and a strong warming of sea temperatures off the coast of Peru.
Events in the year 2018 in Kenya.
The Patel Milmet Dam was a privately owned embankment dam located near the township of Solai, Nakuru County, in Kenya's Rift Valley. The dam burst amid heavy rains on 9 May 2018, killing at least 48 people.
The 2018 East Africa Floods were a natural disaster in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Somalia, Djibouti, and Burundi affecting millions of people. They began when excessive rains began falling in March 2018 following a year of severe drought, leading to massive flooding, landslides, and the failure and overflow of several dams. Record rainfall was recorded in several areas, surpassing various records set during the 1950s and during the 1997–98 El Niño event. Nearly 500 people have lost their lives while hundreds of thousands of others have been displaced.
At least 30 tropical cyclones have affected the Southern African mainland. Three southeastern African countries border the Indian Ocean – Tanzania, Mozambique, and South Africa. Other inland countries also experience the effects of tropical cyclones, including Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
On 8 August 2019, due to heavy rainfall in the monsoon season, severe flood affected Kerala. As a security measure in the prevailing situation of heavy rains, the India Meteorological Department had issued a red alert in the 9 districts in Northern and Central Kerala, orange alert in 3 districts of Central Kerala, and yellow alert in the 2 districts of southern Kerala. Thousands of people have been evacuated to safer places and relief camps. A total of 121 people have died due to rain-related incidents as of 19 August 2019.
The 2020 East Africa floods were a natural disaster in Rwanda, Kenya, Somalia, Burundi, Ethiopia, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti and Tanzania, affecting at least 700,000 people. They began when excessive rains began falling in March, leading to massive flooding and landslides. They caused more than 430 deaths, notably in Kenya and Rwanda. In the fall another round of floods hit the African Sahel.
The 2020 Yemen flood was a flash flood that killed at least 172 people in Yemen and damaged homes and UNESCO-listed world heritage sites across the country, officials said.
In 2021, Niger has been affected by subsequent floods due to heavy rains, causing several deaths and widespread damage nationwide. Niamey is the most affected area. At least 62 people died, 60 were injured and 105,690 individuals have been affected by the floods. Most fatalities were reported in Maradi Region with 18 deaths.
Throughout 2022, floods affected most of Africa, killing over 2,100 people. The worst affected country was Nigeria, with over 610 deaths.
From January 31 to February 1, 2022, heavy rainfall impacted Ecuador, which caused multiple landslides, floods, and mudflows. It was caused by the country's biggest rainfall in nearly 20 years, which fell on the capital.
Beginning in May 2022, deadly floods hit northeastern India and Bangladesh. Over 9 million people in both countries have been affected, and around 300 people were killed.
The 2022 Sudan floods saw the figure for flood-affected people in Sudan had exceeded the figure for 2021, rising to 314,500. From 2017 to 2021, there were 388,600 people affected by floods annually.
Events in the year 2023 in Kenya.
From February to late-December 2023, floods killed over 2,600 people in 15 countries across Africa.
Heavy rainfall during the 2024 monsoon season resulted in severe flooding and landslides across several regions of India. Rainfall caused significant flooding first in Assam State and later end of August also in Gujarat, India.
In 2024, the North African country of Sudan experienced flooding caused by heavy rainfall. Flooding beginning in July caused the deaths of at least twelve people, with seven more people injured and at least 12,506 people in total affected.