36 killed in three weeks of flooding in Kenya: ministry

Thirty-six people have died in three weeks of flooding in Kenya and more than 2,000 families have been displaced, a senior civil servant said Thursday.

Heavy rains have lead to "the loss of 36 lives, 2,393 households displaced and the loss of property and infrastructure," the second-in-command at the Special Programmes Ministry Andrew Mondoh told journalists.

Bur he said the heavy rains had also had positive effects.

"Water sources have recharged, pasture has regenerated and farmers have taken advantage of the rains to plant," said Mondoh, whose ministry is tasked mainly with preventing and managing natural disasters.

Roads and property have been damaged in most parts of the country, Mondoh said.

"The government is currently distributing food and non-food items," in areas hard hit by flooding, he said, citing among others the Tana River area in Coast province, Garissa in the east and Kisumu and Homa Bay in western Kenya.