After years of drought and famine, the peoples of East Africa are once again facing threat as the rainy season brings heavy rainfall and flash floods. The Red Cross is mobilizing to rebuild local resilience on the brink of a new humanitarian crisis, in both the eastern and western parts of the continent.

- Pastoralist people here are losing all their livestock because of the drought, and they are living in unfathomable poverty. Thousands are dying from starvation and malnutrition, and now the floods of the rainy season will wash away the last of the means these people rely on to survive, says secretary general of the Norwegian Red Cross, Børge Brende.

Two weeks ago, Brende visited Kenya and saw with his own eyes how the first days of the rainy season started to change the lives of north-eastern Kenya's pastoralists.

- The areas in the north of Kenya are amongst the most affected. The people here can really be labelled "the climate-losers", says Brende.

Sofia Abdulahi (29) is one of them. Together with her family she has moved to the village of Rhamu, on the Ethiopian border, in search of help to survive.

- We lost all our animals because of the drought, and now we fear the rain and floods. We just don't know how we are going to survive, she says.

Sofia and many others like her are now completely dependent on aid to survive.

- The humanitarian crisis unfolding on the Horn of Africa and in East Africa shows us that the climate crisis is not simply a theory; it is already affecting millions of people and their livelihoods, says Red Cross secretary general Brende.

Prepares for flash floods

In cooperation with the national Red Cross societies of the East-African countries, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC) is now mobilizing to build resilience in the drought-stricken population, and help the people face the challenges that lie ahead. The rain is coming, and it is now feared that increased water levels in rivers and lakes will cause flash floods. The areas at risk desperately need water, but if the rainfall is too heavy this can lead to massive devastation - In an area that has been suffering from drought for a long time, heavy rain and flooding is especially critical. Most of the soil lies fallow and is not able to absorb all the water, with the result that the last of the fertile land is also washed away, says relief coordinator Jan Egil Mosand in the Norwegian Red Cross.

Waterborne diseases like malaria, cholera and dengue fever can severely affect the local population, as they are already exhausted from malnutrition and other health issues, and resistance levels are very low. The IFRC is now working to increase its disaster preparedness in areas at risk, especially in terms of medical supplies and water- and sanitation items.

West Africa also affected

In the past month, 18 countries in West Africa have also been affected by floods. It has rained so heavily that sewer systems in several places have been flooded. Aid worker Lisbet Elvekjær from Danish Red Cross is in Saint Louis in northern Senegal, one of the most severely affected countries, and describes the circumstances as very unhygienic

- The smell is awful, and it is very unpleasant to see all the things that are floating around in the water. The water is up to our knees and we are wearing rubber boots at all times, says Lisbet Elvekjær.

- The water has entered peoples houses, and in many areas they have had to place their mattresses on piles of bricks in order to keep them dry. It is self evident that when sewer water mixes with rain water, it is unhygienic, says Elvekjær.

The international Red Cross movement, together with local Red Cross and Red Cross societies, is working non-stop to distribute food, clean water, sanitation and temporary shelter ro thousands of affected people.