Since March 1st 2010, the long rains have been pounding most parts of Kenya resulting in flood situations in parts of the Kenya.
The floods have claimed 56 lives country wide; over 9,135 house holds have since been displaced and over 90,000 persons affected.
As a result of the incident rains and run-off water from the Ethiopian highlands at the Kenya Ethiopia border have resulted in widespread floods in the vast district. The Ethiopian side has also issued a flood warning for the Kenyans living in the shadow of Wirwita dam in Ethiopia since the dam is about to reach overspill level. As a result, over 1000 families have evacuated from the projected course of the waters from Wirwita dam.

Due to the vastness of Garissa district, limited GSM coverage, impassable roads, and the exorbitant costs of and limitations of chartering airplanes or choppers for aerial assessment and the prevailing humanitarian case the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) of Kenya Red Cross Society would like to request for the activation of the Satellite Charter on Space and Major Disasters to avail images of the vast district. Most of Moyale is currently under floods of some sort and there is need for the visualization of the ground situating before the area can be accessed.

Further to this, Tana River and Garissa Districts are currently in high risk for possible floods since Masinga reservoir; the largest hydroelectric dam in the country is nearly reaching the full supply level (fsl). The dam poses hydrological threat to over 50,000 people in the two districts. As of 30th April 2010 at 1200HRs, the dam had 1.5m to reaching fsl of 1056.5m. With the dam having recorded water level rises as large as 0.22m in some days of the week, and cognizant of the heavy rains and predictions of floods that are currently in force, the KRCS is implementing on a contingency and a risk reduction plan. The KENGEN that runs the Hydroelectric dams has now officially issues an alert on the imminent release of its excess waters through overspill.
 

Source: Kenya Red Cross