Nairobi (The Uttam Hindu): Five people were killed following heavy rains in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa, local officials confirmed. Ebrahim Basafar, chief fire officer of Mombasa County, told Xinhua news agency over the phone that the five were killed when a perimeter wall collapsed and fell on them due to a heavy downpour on Monday. "We were called by a resident to respond to a fallen wall in the rain and found three people already dead on the spot, and two others died while being treated at the hospital," Basafar said, adding that a child was among the deceased.
The accident came two days after the government issued flood warnings due to heavy rains pounding several parts of the East African country. The ongoing rains have continued to wreak havoc across the country, leaving hundreds homeless after several rivers in western Kenya burst their banks. According to the Kenya Meteorological Department, the short rainy season that began in October is expected to end later this month, with above-average rainfall forecast for many parts of the country. Earlier this year, the unusual seasonal rains, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern, caused chaos in many parts of Kenya, a country that is highly vulnerable to climate change.
More than 300 people were killed, 188 injured, and 38 missing, while more than 293,200 people were displaced and nearly 306,520 affected by heavy rains and flooding in Kenya between March and June, according to the Kenya National Disaster Operation Center.