East Africa Flood Disaster Events

Apr 29, 2025 · 2 min read

East Africa Flood Disaster Events

Burundi (BUR)

  • Cause: El Niño-induced heavy rainfall, occurring between October-December 2023
  • Impact: 203,944+ people affected, 98,000+ internally displaced persons, 19,250+ homes destroyed
  • Timeline: July 2023 (ICPAC forecast warning) to April 2024 (ongoing flooding)

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Djibouti (DJI)

  • Cause: Extremely heavy rainfall (approximately 300mm in Djibouti city, three times annual average)
  • Period: November 21-23, 2019
  • Impact: 9 deaths reported (including 7 children), 250,000 people affected nationwide

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Eritrea

  • Cause: Heavy predicted rainfall
  • Period: Reported incidents May 2024
  • Impact:

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Ethiopia

  • Cause: Heavy rainfall during 2024 rainy season, particularly in highland areas
  • Period: April-May 2024
  • Impact: More than 590,000 people affected, particularly in Afar, Amhara, Central Ethiopia, Oromia, Sidama, Somali, South Ethiopia, and Tigray regions
  • Displacement: Around 95,000 people displaced

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Kenya (KEN)

  • Cause: Torrential rains amplified by El Niño phenomenon, threat from Cyclone Hidaya
  • Period: March-April 2024
  • Impact: 188 deaths, 165,000 people displaced, 90 people missing

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Rwanda (RWA)

  • Cause: Heavy rainfall causing floods and landslides
  • Period: May 1-3, 2023
  • Impact: 109-131 deaths, 51,905 people (10,381 households) affected, 5,472 houses completely destroyed

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Somalia (SOM)

  • Cause: Unprecedented flooding during Deyr rainy season (October-December 2023) caused by El Niño
  • Impact: 2.48 million people affected, over 1.2 million displaced, estimated damages of $193.4 million
  • Additional: Gu season (April-June 2024) rains caused additional flash floods with 4 more deaths

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South Sudan (SSD)

  • Cause: Intense seasonal rainfall, high lake levels upstream in Uganda, elevated water levels in Nile River
  • Period: Peaked in early October 2024
  • Impact: 1.4 million people affected, 379,000 people displaced, flood extent of approximately 48,000 km²

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Sudan (SDN)

  • Cause: Heavy rainfall during 2024 rainy season
  • Areas: Kassala State, North Darfur State, and Sennar State most severely affected
  • Impact: At least 5 deaths reported, thousands displaced, over 1,000 houses destroyed

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Tanzania (TZA)

  • Cause: Heavy rains caused by El Niño and intensified by Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) system
  • Period: November 2023 through April 2024
  • Impact: 155 deaths, 236 injuries, approximately 200,000 people affected across 51,000 households

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Uganda (UGA)

  • Cause: Heavy storms, floods, and landslides triggered by El Niño
  • Period: Throughout 2023, intensifying in September
  • Impact: From January to September 2023, disasters affected 97,727 individuals and displaced over 7,908 people

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