KENYATTA UNIVERSITY.

NAME: MUTUKU MUTUA KEVIN

REG NO. N36/2538/2008

UNIT CODE EPM 327

TASK;
indentify and discuss major disasters in kenya and how they influence
deelopment in the concerned areas
 INTRODUCTION
A natural disaster is the effect of a natural hazard e.g. flood, tornado, hurricane, volcanic
eruption, earthquake, or landslide that affects the environment, and leads to financial,
environmental and human losses. The resulting loss depends on the capacity of the population
to support or resist the disaster, and their resilience

The occurrence of natural disasters has shown a negative trend as annual incidents of disaster
events have increased on the continent. Approximately two-thirds of the people in Kenya fall
below the poverty line, leaving the country stuck in poverty traps that prevent sustainable
development.

There are several sectors of the community that get affected once these disasters occur for
example ;-Schools in the country are hampered in their operation many school are unable to
open due to flooding, students are transferred to other schools while others dropout of the
system. Access to safe water, sanitation, quality education and HIV/AIDS awareness are
desperately needed, along with micro-economic development to bring the population up to a
livable standard.

Urbanization can be a positive thing, but when cities are badly governed, risks can increase.
This can put thousands of people’s lives in danger. With little institutional capacity or
political commitment to improve the urban environment, poor people who lack services
remain at high risk of floods, landslides and epidemics. This is particularly true of the poorest
of the poor who live in slums and informal settlements.

Most urban dwellers living in low- and middle-income towns in kenya are exposed to
unacceptable levels of risks fuelled by rapid urbanization, poor local governance, population
growth and poor health services.

Its important to take risk-sensitive investments , since most urban settlements are vulnerable
to disasters, buildings including schools and hospital should be built wit expertise to avoid
being death traps to the local citizens
In kenya there has been several disasters that have affected the communities and also has
influenced development in some of the urban centers n the country for example-;

1) Floods.
The elniono rains fell in most parts of the country in 2002, causing massive destruction of
property and forests , displacement of population, and loss of lives. These rains, never before
witnessed in the country, fell in parts of Central, Western and Coastal provinces. landslides
destroyed homes and farms, and led to the death of hunreds of people and loss of livestock.
In response to this disaster,

This year also saw a similar scenario, when heavy rains pounded sections of the country, the
worst affected being Budalangi in Western Province and Tana River district in Coast
Province. More than 150,000 people were displaced and several hundreds lost their
property.when these floods come they destroy structures put up by men and also leads to loss
of life thus influencing development in the country. The recent floods came close on the heels
of a severe drought that hit the Northern parts of Kenya leaving many without food.

The floods have wiped out hundreds of hectares of farmland in Kenya’s food basket area of
Trans Nzoia and Eldoret threatening a shortfall in production of the country’s staple food,
maize.

2) USA Embassy Bombing

The USA Embassy in Nairobi was bombed by terrorists in august 1998., The bomb impact
was felt throughout the Central Business District. The impact damaged surrounding buildings,
with the Ufundi Co-operative Building being completely destroyed. More than 200 people
were killed, and over 3,000 others injured. The death of these people created shortage of work
force in the central business district since most people died and others due to the phobia
decided to move to the rural areas and destruction of most of these buldings leads to slow
development in the country.

3) Drought
Due to the increased urbanisation and creation of more industries in most urban centers in the
country has led to climate change. For example the release of cfc’s gases from the factories
into the atmosphere that lead to deplection of the ozone layer thus leading to change of
climatic conditons in the country . The 2009 drought t saw many people and animals die due
to lack of water and food was a major enviromental disaster in the country. People were only
interested in food only thus slowed down the development process in the country. The lack of
rain made it almost impossible for the local people to live on their land. Some traveled for
like 45 miles to buy clean drinking water.

The prolonged drought has crippled agriculture production in rural Kenya, greatly affecting
millions of families who rely on farming, fishing or herding. As in rural communities
elsewhere in Africa, when disasters and hardships hit, young people are often the most
susceptible to problems. Thus adversly affecting development of the country.
 4) Fire.

In march 2002, a fire swept through a dormitory of the Kyanguli Secondary School in
Machakos District, killing at least 59 male students. Upto 28 students were admitted to
hospital, some in critical condition with 60 percent burns. Most of the deaths were caused
either by carbon monoxide inhalation, or by the collapse of the roof of the single storey
building.
Two other catastrophic fires occurred in Kenya. On January 28, 2009, a busy supermarket was
destroyed in downtown Nairobi. Shortly thereafter on February 2, an overturned petrol tanker
exploded near the village of Molo, Twenty-six victims died in the supermarket fire, and 20
who were admitted to local hospitals later succumbed. At Molo, 91 lives were claimed at the
scene; 178 patients were admitted to various hospitals, 40 of whom died,

this destroyed property around the country and killed several people thus affecting the
counrys development.

5) DISEASES:- HIV AND AIDS.

AIDS has caused immense human suffering in the country. The most obvious effect of this
crisis has been illness and death, but the impact of the epidemic has certainly not been
confined to the health sector; households, schools, workplaces and economies have also been
badly affected. HIV and AIDS dramatically affect labour, setting back economic and social
progress. The vast majority of people living with HIV in kenyas are between the ages of 15
and 49 - in the prime of their working lives

AIDS damages businesses by squeezing productivity, adding costs, diverting productive

resources, and depleting skills. Company costs for health-care, funeral benefits and pension
fund commitments are likely to rise as the number of people taking early retirement or dying
increases. Also, as the impact of the epidemic on households grows more severe, market
demand for products and services can fall. The epidemic hits productivity through increased
absenteeism. A study in kenya has estimated that the combined impact of AIDS-related
absenteeism, productivity declines, health-care expenditures, and recruitment and training
expenses could cut profits by at least 6-8%. This affects heavily the development of the
country at large.
References.

1) The disaster managment and reduction strategy paper.

2) Kennedy PJ, Haertsch PA, Maiitz PK. The molo burn disaster: implications and
lessons learned. J Burn Care Rehabil. 2005;26:125–31.
3) Harrington DT, Biffl WL, Cioffi WG. Disasters in africa. J Burn Care Rehabil.
2005;26:141–3.