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Ongoing flooding kills hundreds in eastern Africa

Published May 7, 2020 1:31 PM EDT

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Police officers reportedly trapped in floods as West Pokot county is hit again by a potentially deadly landslide.

Ongoing heavy rainfall across Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya and Somalia has resulted in widespread flooding leading to hundreds of deaths across the region. 

The BBC reports that 194 people in Kenya and 16 people in Somalia have been killed by recent flooding. The most recent round of heavy rain and flooding from Wednesday into Thursday has taken the lives of 72 in Rwanda.

UPDATE: Death toll from May 6-7th heavy rains rises to 72, reports @RwandaEmergency

Evacuation of families from high risk areas to continue as more heavy rains are expected till May 10th in #Rwanda

— Rwanda Today (@RwandaToday) May 8, 2020

Rounds of heavy rain associated with the region's wet season have produced significant flooding since April. 

Guverineri @gatjmv wa @RwandaNorth ari kumwe na Guverineri Munyantwali Alphonse wa @RwandaWest,
barimo gusura ibyangijwe n'ibiza byatewe n'imvura idasanzwe yaguye mu ijoro rishyira kuri uyu wa kane mu Turere twa Gakenke @RwandaNorth na Nyabihu @RwandaWest. @RwandaGov pic.twitter.com/bed0vim3gg

— Northern Province/ Rwanda (@RwandaNorth) May 7, 2020

The flooding is also reported to have destroyed 8,000 acres of crops which are vital to the region. 

In addition to flooding that has washed out roads, landslides have destroyed buildings in areas with rugged terrain.

Ubuyobozi bwa @NgororeroDistr bwimuriye mu mashuli abaturage basenyewe n'ibiza n'abari batuye ahantu hashyira ubuzima bwabo mu kaga abandi bacumbikiwe n'abaturanyi. @RwandaEmergency @RwandaLocalGov @RwandaWest pic.twitter.com/LnczArAie0

— Ngororero District (@NgororeroDistr) May 7, 2020

The heavy rain across the region has also brought water levels on Lake Victoria to some of the highest on record. 

Not only has this led to flooding along the coastline of Lake Victoria, which is one of Africa’s Great Lakes, it also threatens to disrupt hydroelectric power produced by dams on the Nile River which is fed by the lake. 

As water levels rise on the lake, large papyrus mats break free and become floating islands. 

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Reuters reports that Uganda had a country-wide blackout on April 14 as one such papyrus mat clogged water intakes at two dams. The country gets most of its power from hydroelectricity.

Kenya Power and Lighting Company also confirmed a total network outage across the country on Saturday.

Rounds of heavy rain are expected to continue across the region into June as the wet season continues. This may lead to more flooding, potentially even higher water levels on Lake Victoria and the threat for additional blackouts. 

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

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