•Cyclone Ambali has weakened and Belna has moved down South
•Lake Victoria basin and Rift Valley highlands expected to receive showers and thunderstorms
Image: BBC
A tropical cyclone that was feared could hit the Kenyan Coast has moved further south and was yesterday expected to land in Madagascar instead.
Cyclone Belna is the only storm present in the world oceans at present.
The Met Department said cyclone Pawan, which hit Somalia at the weekend, sent into Kenya the heavy rains experienced at the weekend.
"The tropical storm off Somalia Coast has moved the rain bearing system ( Intertropical Convergence Zone) eastwards into Kenya causing the heavy rainfall being experienced in Western, Central and Rift Valley," Met explained.
It said Kenya was spared of the two other cyclones.
These are Ambali, which weakened, and currently Belna, which has moved South.
In a five-day forecast ending today, Met said rains would reduce early this week across the country.
However, the Lake Victoria basin and Rift Valley highlands were still expected to receive showers and thunderstorms.
Central Kenya including Nairobi, Embu, Meru and Nyeri and the Northeastern counties of Marsabit, Mandera, Wajir, Garissa and Isiolo are expected to receive showers in a few places.
The rest of the country will be mainly cloudy early this week but could still receive light showers.
At least 140 people have so far died in rain-related accidents, according to independent estimates.
The government spokesman last Tuesday put the death toll at 132 but seven more people died after a building collapsed in Tassia estate last week.
Approximately 330,000 people are already adversely affected by the heavy rains, which began in October and intensified at the end of November.
Floods and landslides have displaced 17,000 people from their homes and killed 132 since October, the government spokesman told journalists in Nairobi.
He said more than 11,000 livestock have been swept away, an undetermined acreage of farmlands have been submerged and crops destroyed.
Roads and bridges have also been adversely affected in Mandera, Wajir, Marsabit, Turkana, Garissa, Lamu, Kwale, Tana River and Mombasa.
Yesterday, Unicef noted many of those affected are children.
“Unicef is working closely with county governments in affected areas to provide life-saving interventions, to meet the immediate needs of flood-affected children and their families,” said Unicef Kenya Representative Maniza Zaman.
Zaman said to date, Unicef has provided more than 200,000 sachets of oral rehydration supplies to treat dehydration, 85,000 bottles of sodium lactate solution to treat severe diarrhea, 30,000 tablets to treat pneumonia, and 1,600 cholera test kits.
They have also given 22,400 jerry cans, 22,500 buckets, 53,000 bars of soap, over 311,000 sachets of water purification chemicals, and 2.1 million tablets of water treatment chemicals.
Zaman said they gave out 1,000 dignity kits for girls and boys. For girls, these contain menstrual hygiene management materials. Both boys and girls get clothing, toothbrush, soap, and toilet paper.
Other donations include two classroom tents, 200 boarding supplies (beds, bedsheets and pillows), textbooks and stationery.
Further, over 800 family relief kits, containing cooking utensils, bedding, soap, water containers and basic shelter materials for a family of five were donated.