Death toll from Kenya floods almost doubles to 120

NAIROBI - The death toll from floods that have devastated many parts of Kenya has almost doubled to 120, a government official said.

More than 89,000 households have also been displaced and are being sheltered in over 112 camps, top interior ministry official Raymond Omollo said in a statement.

Kenya and its Horn of Africa neighbours Somalia and Ethiopia are battling flash floods caused by torrential rains linked to the El Nino weather pattern.

The floods are exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region just as it emerges from the worst drought in four decades that left millions of people hungry.

Omollo said four counties in eastern Kenya were the worst hit while another 10 were on high alert.

Kenyan President William Ruto chaired an emergency cabinet meeting on the disaster on Monday, pledging to release billions of Kenyan shillings (millions of dollars) to the affected areas.

His office had said in a statement after that meeting that 76 Kenyans had perished and more than 35,000 households had been forced from their homes.

"The above-normal precipitation, resulting from El Nino, has led to widespread flooding that has regrettably led to loss of lives, displacement of families, disease outbreaks, destruction of infrastructure and property, as well as prolonged power outages across Kenya and many parts of the Eastern Africa region," it said.