UN says heavy rains, flash floods affect 1.6 mn in Africa

Nairobi, May 23 (IANS) Heavy rains and flash floods have affected an estimated 1.6 million people in eastern Africa, the United Nations relief agency said.The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Wednesday that as of May 17, 473 people in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, and Tanzania have lost their lives, and nearly 410,350 people have been displaced, Xinhua news agency reported.Humanitarian agencies across the region continue to support governments in search and rescue operations, conducting needs assessments, pre-positioning available stocks, and providing urgent assistance, OCHA added.”Additional funding to scale up response as heavy rains and floods spread is needed,” it said in a Floods Update released in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.–IANSint/khz