This archive report was first published on 9 May 2020.
As the East African Community grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, the region is facing a new crisis: devastating floods and a looming locust invasion.
According to the Kenya Meteorological Department, heavy rains are expected to continue until the end of May, with parts of western, Mt. Kenya, northeastern, and Rift Valley under watch.
On May 6, Kenya's Interior Minister, Dr. Fred Matiang'i, issued a warning, stating, 'Effective this morning, we have raised the alarm in relation to floods in the country. We have no option but to begin to move people out by force. It is better we talk to you when you are still alive than when you are dead.'
Meanwhile, Kenya is expanding locust surveillance in the northeastern parts of the country, amid fears of a second wave of invasion later this month.
According to a joint team from the national and county governments collaborating with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the next phase of the war on locusts will be won largely if weather conditions and the country's ability to track and spray are done diligently.
On May 7, 2020, the region reported 1,519 COVID-19 cases and almost 200 fatalities, but the floods are now killing more people and destroying farmlands, raising fears of food insecurity, affecting the most vulnerable who are already dealing with the effects of both the Coronavirus and poverty.
