On Saturday 12 May, the European Commission announced that the EU has disbursed €1.5 million in emergency humanitarian aid to help the victims of the deadly floods in Kenya.
This is some initial aid for the most vulnerable families of the 500 affected by the bursting of the Patel dam in the Solai area of Nakuru county (190 km north-west of Nairobi) during the evening of 9 May. This dam burst had a heavy human toll as it killed at least 44 people.
"The European Union is saddened by the loss of life in Kenya from the dam burst in Solai and from extreme flooding in different parts of the country. The EU is doing its part to assist the most affected by this tragedy", European Commissioner for Humanitarian aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides stated.
The funding is to be taken from the budget of ECHO (the European Commission's department for European civil protection and humanitarian aid operations) and will help cover basic needs such as emergency shelter and basic household essentials, food and nutrition, drinking water and repair of damaged water and sanitation facilities, as well as emergency health care and epidemics prevention.
The flooding caused by heavy rainfall in Kenya since March is reported to have claimed over 170 lives, left over 8,000 hectares of farmland decimated (causing widespread damage to crops, livestock and food stocks) and to have forced the displacement of over 300,000 people. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)