Floods leave 300,000 homeless in Kenya

Over 300,000 people have been made homeless by the flooding

Plan is supporting emergency measures to help over 300,000 people who have been made homeless by floods in the coastal districts of Kwale and Kilife in Kenya.

Plan is working hard with communities to minimise the impact on children, including working on the ground alongside the Red Cross, the World Food Program (WFP) and the government in supplying food and medicine to displaced families.

The military has also joined emergency efforts and is using helicopters to distribute supplies to families now marooned on hills and ridges.

As the rains have worsened, already poor roadways in both the Kwale and Kilifi districts have disintegrated - roads made of earth have become impassable, and bridges have washed away. Many families have been cut off, and thousands have moved to schools, mosques and churches for shelter.

The government, in a statement published in the press, has acknowledged Plan's contribution of food, mosquito nets and money but is calling for further aid as the rains become heavier.

Plan Kenya communities

While no deaths have been reported as yet in communities where Plan works, many projects have been affected. Classroom walls have collapsed and family, public and school latrines have sunk. In Kwale, Miatsani dam - from which communities draw their water for domestic and livestock use - has washed away and Mlafyeni dam has partially silted.

Plan Kenya, as an active member of Kenya's Disaster Management Committee, is monitoring the situation and joining government efforts to support the people in greatest need. We will also continue working with community-based organisations and other partners in the recovery strategy.

As the WFP, the Red Cross and the government have taken the lead role in food distribution, Plan Kenya has agreed to support the Kwale district with non-food products such as bednets, camp support  (including education, medicines, and water purification systems) and latrines.

For more information on Plan’s work in Kenya, please visit the Plan Kenya website