Extreme Rain Events Pound East Africa, Killing many, Displacing Tens of Thousands

Severe floods wreak havoc across much of East Africa

Much of East Africa including parts of seven countries—Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, and Tanzania have been affected by deadly floods that were triggered by extreme rain events, beginning mid-March.

The rains have “caused significant flooding in the Lake Victoria basin in Uganda and Kenya, the southern Maasai rangelands in Kenya, and along the Wabi Shabelle in Ethiopia in late March and early April,” according to Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET).

“Above-normal rains have occurred in several areas, including northern and western Tanzania; Rwanda; Burundi; the Lake Victoria Basin; western, southern and northeastern Kenya; southern and central Somalia; and eastern and south-eastern Ethiopia,” said FEWS NET.

• The rains are forecast to continue through May.

• Floods have resulted in the loss of life, displacements of large numbers of people, the destruction of crops, and damage to infrastructure, FEWS NET reported.

Kenya

Flash floods have killed dozens of people in Kenya, displacing tens of thousands, and destroying crops and much of the infrastructure.

“If the current rains continue with the same intensity for the next three weeks, we expect food shortages and escalation of food prices in May and June this year,” according to the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS).

“In northeastern Kenya’s Dadaab refugee complex, home to about 463,000 mainly Somali refugees, the rains have displaced some families and affected commodity prices.”

Somalia

“Robust precipitation accumulations (>75mm) were again observed over central and southern Somalia,” states an Africa Hazards Outlook.

“Many local areas have already experienced more than three times their normal rainfall accumulation since the beginning of April, sustaining the risk for localized flash flooding and downstream river inundation over the Jubba and Shabelle River basins in eastern Ethiopia and southern Somalia.”

• “SWALIM [Somalia Water and Land Information Management] field reports in the last two days indicate river breakages at Hurway (about 8m wide), Eji (about 6m wide) and Maadheere (about 14m wide) villages all in Middle Shabelle Region. This has led to inundation of large areas, causing destruction of cropped area[s] of unconfirmed acreage, and displacement of several families.”

Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda

See report update by FEWS NET.

.

DISASTER CALENDAR – April 13, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,064 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,064 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Up to Half Million People Displaced by Flooding in Kenya

Extreme rain events flood dozens of rivers in Kenya, leaving at least 50 dead and up to 1/2 million people displaced

Flash floods and landslides in Kenya have so far killed at least 50 people in the capital Nairobi, destroying thousands of homes, businesses, and public infrastructure, spoiling crops and food stocks, and leaving  about half a million people displaced.

Most parts of the country have received significant rainfall of up to 50mm per day since late April. Heavy rains are expected to continue, especially in the central, western and coastal areas through end of June, reports said.

Recurring cycles of drought and deluge have plagued Kenya since the 1970s.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Brazil.  A severe drought is affecting at least 1,100 towns in NE Brazil, devastating crops and threatening the lives of local residents and livestock.  In rural areas ‘water wars’ have erupted, claiming an average of one life per day, reports said.
  • Drought has devastated farm output and destroyed about half of the region’s livestock.
  • The drought is said to be Brazil’s worst in living memory.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Conflict and Famine in Sudan Create 2.2 M Refugees

Refugee population in southern Ethiopia exceeds 150,000

“Decades of conflict and drought have driven nearly 983,000 Somali refugees into the region, most of them hosted in Kenya, Yemen and Ethiopia. Another 1.36 million Somalis are internally displaced within the country,” UNHCR reported.

“New arrivals continue to cite insecurity inside Somalia as their reason for flight. In a new development, some refugees say they fled in fear of possible forced recruitment or military conscription. Others cite fear of potential revenge killings in the wake of renewed fighting. These circumstances, combined with last year’s famine in Somalia, eroded many people’s traditional coping mechanisms and forced them to seek asylum across the border.”

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Kyrgyzstan.  Extreme rain events southern Kyrgyzstan have triggered widespread flooding and massive landslides, destroying or damaging hundreds of homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure in several towns and villages, reports said.
  • Flooding have also destroyed crops and buried farm animals.

• Kenya. Heavy rains throughout Kenya have triggered flash floods and lightening, killing or injuring about 80 people and causing large-scale destruction of homes, farmlands and infrastructure.
  • The extreme weather has also left at least 2,000 families homeless.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Extreme rains claim lives, displace thousands in Kenya

Floods in Kenya kill a dozen people, displace 40,000

Extreme rain events in Kenya have unleashed severe flooding, washing away bridges and destroying roads. At least a dozen people have lost their lives, and more than 40,000 others made homeless, said the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS).

Disaster Calendar 2011 – December 7

[December 7, 2011]  Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,561 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History

• Kenya. Extreme rain events in Kenya have unleashed severe flooding, washing away bridges and destroying roads. At least a dozen people have lost their lives, and more than 40,000 others made homeless, said the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS).
• “River Nzoia burst its banks on 3 December, displacing thousands of people in Budalang’i, Bunyala and Funyula areas of western Kenya. Thousands are also displaced in Nyando and Nyatike areas in Nyanza, as well in Coast Province.”

Other Disasters

• Northern Quebec, Canada.  Two First Nations communities in northern Quebec have declared states of emergency following sustained power outages amid extremely cold temperatures.
• Chisasibi First Nation in James Bay has no electricity to provide heat for 4,000 residents who are experiencing -30ºC temperatures, a report said.
• “Wemindji First Nation, located south of Chisasibi, has also declared a state of emergency after losing power at 9 a.m. on Monday”
• Yemen.  Killing of civilians including children continues in Yemen. At least 138 children have been killed and about 570 others wounded in the ongoing violence, reports said.
• Obama’s War on Afghanistan. A series of bombing across Afghanistan has killed or wounded hundreds of people, reports said.
• Japan. Japan has used about 2.3bn yen ($30m) from its tsunami recovery budget to provide additional security measures for its whaling fleet, environmental groups said.

Global Disasters

• 2011 Much More Disastrous
• 2010 Disasters [Includes Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters: 2011 SIX TIMES MORE DISASTROUS THAN 2010
• 2011 Disaster Calendar