With bare hands and basic tools, Eunice Wanjiku dug through rubble searching for loved ones still missing after devastating floods swept through central Kenya this week. Across Kenya, floods and landslides have killed more than 180 people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes since March.

Mai Mahiu

Extreme weather events are occurring more frequently amid rising sea-levels and increasing temperatures.

Climate Crisis

In central Kenya, residents are grappling with the aftermath of catastrophic floods that have upended lives and decimated communities. Among those affected is Eunice Wanjiku, who has been conducting a desperate search for her missing loved ones in the rubble of what was once her cousin Anne Mumbi's home in Maimahiu. With only basic tools and determination, Wanjiku and other families sift through the destruction, hoping to find signs of those still unaccounted for.

The devastation wrought by floods and landslides has had a profound impact across Kenya, claiming the lives of more than 180 people and displacing hundreds of thousands from their homes since March. The tragedy in Maimahiu is a stark representation of the wider crisis, as community members come together in their grief, looking for any trace of their missing relatives. Despite their efforts, many, including the family of Anne Mumbi, have yet to find closure, with Mumbi's fate still unknown.

The national response to the disaster has seen the involvement of the Kenyan Red Cross and the deployment of soldiers to aid in search efforts, particularly in heavily affected areas like Maimahiu. However, the arrival of heavy machinery necessary for more effective search operations has been delayed, leaving residents like Wanjiku to continue their searches with whatever means they have at their disposal. The crisis in Kenya echoes a broader trend of increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, attributed by scientists to climate change. Similar events have also claimed lives in Tanzania and Burundi, highlighting the regional scale of the environmental challenge.



Kenyans search for bodies of flood victims

Eunice Wanjiku scoured where her cousin Anne Mumbi's house once stood on Wednesday, after devastating floods destroyed her home in Maimahiu, Kenya. For example, this is her child's jacket. That's her mattress. That is her broken bed. That is her roof. And over there, we can see some materials that belonged to her. That is why we suspect that she is buried here. Wanjiku is not alone. Families in Maimahiu are searching for loved ones who are still missing. The Kenyan Red Cross said two more bodies were pulled out from the debris, but Mumbi was not among them. Nahashan Ijeria is Mumbi's brother. We have been searching with our bare hands unsuccessfully, but the smell concentrated around here, which makes us believe that she may be buried underneath here somewhere. She lived up there, not far away, so with the smell, we are almost certain. Across Kenya, floods and landslides have killed more than 180 people and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes since March, the government and the Red Cross said on Wednesday. President William Ruto has deployed soldiers to aid search efforts in Maimahiu, but their heavy machinery has not yet reached the area where Wanjiku's family was digging. Dozens more have been killed by heavy downpours in Tanzania and Burundi. Scientists say climate change is causing more intense and frequent extreme weather events.

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Climate Crisis