Climate change: Floods in East Africa exacerbate food insecurity

The East Africa region was hit with heavy rains in May, leading to flooding in several countries. In Rwanda, floods killed more than 130 people in north and western provinces while in Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) South Kivu province, floods killed more than 400 people. Events like this could worsen food insecurity, analysts say.

In Uganda, floods swept away a bridge of a highway that connects to western Uganda, one of the country’s main food baskets. The road also connects several borders with neighbouring countries such as Rwanda, Tanzania and DRC. Flooding incidents were also recorded in Kenya, Tanzania, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan.

A long dry spell in several countries, which is becoming frequent in the region due to climate change, has been followed by heavy rainfall. East Africa typically has two rainy seasons every year.

The heavy rainy season starts in October, ending in December, while the little rainy season starts in March and ends in May. But the rainy seasons are increasingly becoming unpredictable: it either doesn’t rain or when it does rain, the rain is heavy leading to flooding which consequently results in fatalities and destruction of properties.

Source: African Report