---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: IRIN <[email protected]> Date: Tue, Sep 27, 2011 at 8:31 AM Subject: KENYA: Flash floods hamper relief efforts To: Jean-Francois Darcq <[email protected]>
KENYA: Flash floods hamper relief efforts EAST POKOT/TURKANA, 27 September 2011 (IRIN) - Flash floods in northwest Kenya are hampering the delivery of emergency relief aid to thousands of pastoralists hard hit by a severe drought there, say officials. "East Pokot, with a population of over 300,000 people who rely on relief food, is the most affected," Osman Warfa, the Rift Valley Provincial Commissioner, told IRIN. "It is still raining [and] almost all the roads from Chelkelgit [the district headquarters] where the food is stored are impassable. "A number of bridges have been swept away." This has prevented the distribution of relief food, in the past two weeks, to remote parts of East Pokot, he said. Flash floods in Turkana [ http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=93210 ] further north, have made transporting aid supplies very difficult and expensive, he added. Turkana has recorded high malnutrition rates. "Flash floods experienced in Turkana a fortnight ago left a trail of destruction. Water levels have dropped, but large trucks with heavy goods cannot access the roads in affected areas," said Moses Atuko, the Kenya Red Cross Society's North Rift regional manager. Aid agencies there, he said, have been forced to use vehicles which can only ferry small consignments of food, increasing the cost of delivering relief. Costs could rise further. "We are prepared to use all means, including airlifting relief food," said Warfa, the Rift Valley Commissioner. The expected onset of the short rains in October could lead to more flooding, aggravating food insecurity, notes the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs [ http://ochaonline.un.org/OchaLinkClick.aspx?link=ocha&docId=1257306 ] (OCHA). Some 3.75 million people in Kenya face food security, according to OCHA. na/aw [END] This report online: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportID=93833 © IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.irinnews.org/ [This item comes to you via IRIN, the humanitarian news and analysis service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations or its Member States. Reposting or reproduction, with attribution, for non-commercial purposes is permitted. Terms and conditions: http://www.irinnews.org/copyright.aspx IRIN partners: UAE, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, UNEP and the IHC. More information: http://www.irinnews.org/donors.aspx This mail is from an automatic address. Contact IRIN at: [email protected]. Revise/stop your subscription: http://bit.ly/9nCoUP ] Subscribed email: [email protected] -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
