Rescuers search for stranded drivers after blizzard slams Plains

DENVER - Utility crews struggled to restore electrical service to tens of thousands of homes and businesses as grocery store shelves in southeastern Colorado went bare and hungry cattle grew isolated following a blizzard that dumped nearly 3 feet of snow and piled some of it in drifts 15 feet high.

Authorities were preparing Tuesday to bring in groceries in Humvees and drop hay bales from the air. Civil Air Patrol planes flew over the snow-covered plains Monday, some using infrared heat-sensing equipment to help crews spot animals in case they needed food.

Hay could be delivered to the herds using C-130 airplanes or military helicopters along with snowmobiles, said Polly White of the state Division of Emergency Management.

“It’s kind of like 1997,” she said, referring to the blizzard that killed up to 30,000 head of livestock, costing farmers and ranchers an estimated $28 million.

Planes also flew over parts of Colorado and Kansas Monday to look for snowbound travelers.

Drought relief
Nearly 3,000 people near the southeastern Colorado towns of Lamar and Walsh were without power because power lines were knocked down in the storm, she said.

The roof of an assisted living center in Walsh collapsed but there were no reports of injuries, White said. The center is attached to a nursing home and residents were moved there.

The National Guard used both tracked and wheeled vehicles to help local authorities get emergency supplies like medicine or baby formula to isolated homes, said Col. Hans Kallam. The Guard also helped resupply emergency shelters, where hundreds of people spent the night Sunday.

The number still in shelters by Monday evening wasn’t immediately available.

At the Wooten family’s ranch in canyon land along the Purgatorie River near the southeastern town of Kim, Steve Wooten and his uncle spent Monday checking on their cattle. They had moved most of their cattle closer to their house but had some that had not been fed since the storm hit Thursday.

Still, after several years of drought, Joy Wooten said she was thankful for the moisture.

“It’s kind of hard now but you have to think of the green grass in the spring,” she said.

Only a few roads remained closed Monday, five days after the storm began to drop snow in Colorado, and state snowplows and workers were brought in from other areas of Colorado to help finish clearing roads, said Transportation Department spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.

Many of the people in shelters had been rescued from stranded vehicles. The National Guard also evacuated eight people who needed medical treatment, such as dialysis, and transported medicine to ten locations, White said.

KENYA: Floods displace more people in west and northeast regions

NAIROBI, 2 January (IRIN) - A further several thousand people have been displaced by floods in west and northeast Kenya following a week of heavy rains, the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) has reported.

Areas under water include Budalangi, Migori, Nyando and Kisumu in Nyanza in Western Province, the KRCS said.

Nyanza area is the most affected by the latest floods, the KRCS said in a statement issued on Saturday, noting that the latest floods were occurring after a short lull in the December short rains.

Kisumu has experienced heavy rainfall since 21 December, resulting in the displacement of at least 2,700 people after the River Awach burst its banks.

In neighbouring Migori District, the floods have displaced at least 4,400 people, while in Nyando District, 600 people have had to leave their homes.

In Budalangi, a perennially flood-hit area, dykes continue to be destroyed, while at least 3,000 people are still living in five camps in the area.

Meanwhile, in the eastern and northeast areas, the KRCS said flooding had continued in Isiolo District; while in Wajir, at least 26,000 people are marooned in Guarar, Dajabula and Kursin areas, where roads are impassable.

In Coast Province, around 1,500 people in Malindi District were made homeless over the weekend after the Sabaki river broke its banks. Elsewhere in the district, however, some families have been able to return home.

"Flooding started on Saturday and continued to Sunday, and there is a crisis as we speak," King'ori Mwangi, local police chief, told reporters on Tuesday. "My officers are on the ground helping the people. No deaths have been reported but most residents have moved to higher ground for their safety."

While rains are likely to subside in the coming days across Kenya, the Meteorological Department said, areas in the western region are likely to continue receiving rains next week.

"The rains are likely to subside, but Kisumu and other parts of Nyanza will continue to receive rains, although lighter than what has been experienced in the past few days," James Muhindi, meteorologist at the department, told IRIN on Tuesday.

Rift Valley Fever

The flood situation in Garissa, in the northeast, has been exacerbated by a recent outbreak of Rift Valley Fever, which has so far killed at least 48 people.

"Muslims all over the world celebrated Eid-Ul-Haji, but in Garissa District the atmosphere was overcast as the death toll of those affected by the Rift Valley Fever took an upward climb to 48; 44 confirmed and 4 unconfirmed," KRCS said. "The total number of those affected by RVF has increased to 98."

In December, the KRCS appealed for US $21.9 million to help 563,000 people affected by the floods across the country. Weeks of heavy rains led to the deaths of 114 people in various parts of the country, and affected another 723,000 in the northeastern region, coastal districts and low-lying areas in the western parts of the country.