Floods displace hundreds of households in Tana River as heavy rains intensify

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 13 – More than 300 households have been affected by flooding in Tana River County after a seasonal river burst its banks in Wardesa, cutting off a key road and raising fears of further flooding downstream.

The Kenya Red Cross Society said on Friday that the flooding had affected residents in Eldera, Kono Ramadha and Mata Wardesa following heavy rainfall in the area.

The flooding has also rendered the Kono Ramadha-Mlanjo road impassable, disrupting movement and access to essential services for residents.

In a statement, the humanitarian organisation said its response teams had been deployed to the affected areas to assess the situation and establish the immediate needs of the affected households.

The teams are also working with local administrators to alert communities living downstream about the risk of further flooding and advise families on safe areas where they can seek shelter.

The organisation warned of the risks posed by rising water levels, particularly to communities living near seasonal rivers and other flood-prone areas.

The flooding comes as Kenya braces for continued rainfall during the October-December short rains season, with the Kenya Meteorological Service warning that several parts of the country could experience heavy downpours and thunderstorms.

In its forecast for Friday, November 13, the weather agency predicted rainfall across several regions, with localised pockets of heavy to very heavy rainfall expected in parts of the Lake Victoria Basin, Western Kenya, the Rift Valley, Central region, including Nairobi, and northern Kenya.

Tana River was among the counties forecast to receive light to moderate showers and thunderstorms on Friday, with rainfall expected during the night and morning hours and a possibility of further showers in the afternoon.

The department’s broader November-December outlook also indicated that most parts of the country were likely to receive above-average rainfall, raising the risk of flooding, damage to infrastructure and disruption of transport, particularly in low-lying areas and river basins.

The latest flooding highlights the vulnerability of communities living along seasonal rivers, where heavy rainfall can cause sudden rises in water levels even when the heaviest downpours occur upstream.

Residents in flood-prone areas have been urged to remain alert, avoid crossing flooded roads and rivers, and move to safer ground whenever water levels begin rising.