WORLD> Africa
At least 14,000 uprooted by flash floods in northern Kenya
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-22 15:54

NAIROBI -- The United Nations humanitarian agency said almost 14,000 people in northern Kenya have been displaced by flash floods that occurred last week, and are in need of urgent supplies such as food, shelter and clean water.

A UN news release quoted Elizabeth Byears of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as saying that at least three people were killed and 6,000 uprooted from their homes in the district of Mandera in north-east Kenya, when the River Daua burst its banks last week on Thursday.

According to the release received here on Wednesday, Byears stressed the need to ensure the distribution of water purification tablets and to repair the damaged water sources.

She said the recent flood-related displacement had exacerbated inter-clan tensions.

Sixteen people remain missing following the resulting floods, which submerged seven wells and 350 toilets and closed down three schools.

A major concern right now is contaminated water sources and disease outbreak which threaten the 150,000 residents of Mandera.

Meanwhile, more than 7,500 people have been affected by floods in Turkana district in north-west Kenya. There are major concerns about food security in that community and the impact of the floods on their harvest.

Urgent needs for both communities include food supplies for one month, rapid construction of latrines, water purification tablets, tents, covers, mosquito nets and repairing the water supply system, said Byears.