Kenya has been facing bad weather for the past three weeks. The seasonal rains are much heavier than usual and are causing a heavy human toll in the western and central regions of the country.
This Thursday, the government gave a report on the results of this bad weather. Floods and landslides since mid-April have killed 194 people. More than 3,000 hectares of crops have been destroyed, as well as many infrastructures providing water supply to Nairobi and other major cities.
Several dams have reached their maximum capacity and some 100,000 residents have been evacuated by the government, which is calling on those living downstream to leave the river banks. Lake Victoria is also at a historically high level, according to authorities.
Following the floods, the Ministry of Health announced that it would send masks and other hygiene products to the camps for displaced people in the affected areas to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Kenya has so far recorded 607 cases and 29 deaths, but the situation could become even more complicated as the heavy rains are expected to continue until the end of May.
A second wave of locusts is expected on the Horn of Africa, 20 times larger than the first, FAO warns.
The consequences of this second wave could be dramatic if locust operations cannot be properly sustained. A total of 25 million people are threatened by the food crisis.