This archive report was first published on 19 October 2019.
Heavy rains have been pounding Turkana County for eight days, causing flashfloods that have displaced scores of families and swept away dozens of livestock.
Locals in parts of Lodwar were forced to leave their homes and move to higher ground, with the Turkana County government urging residents to evacuate and move to safer areas to avoid disaster.
A joint team of County Disaster Management department, Kenya Maritime Authority, health officials from the Lodwar County Referral Hospital, and humanitarian organizations, including the Red Cross, have started rescue operations in Lodwar town.
According to a statement by John Emeripus, the county director of public communication, the team is currently rescuing people at the Lodwar Livestock Market Sale yard who couldn't move out after River Turkwel burst its banks, cutting off road access.
Red Cross official Rukia Abubakar reported that families in affected areas have been moved to schools on higher ground, and that lorries transporting relief food to Lodwar and Kakuma are stuck after the rains swept sections of the Kitale-Lodwar-Lokichogio road.
"We have received reports of livestock being swept away by the floods. The rains have subsided this morning and we are expecting to get data of the missing livestock later," Abubakar said.
