Kenya: reopening of schools delayed due to floods
Kenya announced on Monday April 29 the postponement of the reopening of schools for a week due to heavy rains caused by the climatic phenomenon El Niño which caused devastating floods in this East African country where 76 people have lost their lives since March.
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| Floods in Mombasa, Kenya. |
| Photo: AFP/VNA/CVN |
The reopening of schools was initially planned for Monday, after the holidays, but the torrential rains of the monsoon affected many educational establishments, leading the Ministry of Education to delay the resumption of classes.
“The devastating effects of the rains in some schools are so severe that it would be unwise to risk the lives of students and staff before measures are put in place to ensure adequate safety“, indicated the Minister of Education, Ezekiel Machogu.
The ministry decided to “postpone the reopening of all primary and secondary schools by one week, until Monday May 6, 2024“, he added in a press release.
Flash floods submerged roads and neighborhoods, displacing more than 130,000 people, many of them in the capital Nairobi, according to government figures released Saturday. Sixty-four public schools in Nairobi, almost a third of the total number of schools, were “heavily affected” by the floods, declared Friday the number 2 of the Ministry of Education, Belio Kipsang.
In the east of the country, a boat carrying “a big number of people” capsized on Sunday April 28 in Tana River County, the Kenyan Red Cross said on the social network weeks of torrential rains with deadly consequences, particularly in Tanzania where 155 people died.
In Burundi, the authorities have reported 96,000 internally displaced people due to almost incessant rains for several months. And in Uganda, bad weather left two dead and displaced several hundred people.
APS/VNA/CVN
