Concern over sanitation in flooded refugee camps

The UN refugee agency UNHCR has expressed alarm over the deteriorating state of sanitation in the Dadaab refugee camp, northeastern Kenya, where thousands of Somali refugees have been affected by floods. In a statement on Tuesday, the agency said although flood waters had begun to recede, it remained "very worried" about sanitation and the possible spread of water-borne diseases in the refugee camp complex. The agency said large sections of the two most affected camps - Ifo and Dagahaley, which together house some 80,000 refugees - were still under water, impeding access. "Pit latrines have collapsed while some are overflowing. There is stagnant water everywhere," it said. More than 3,000 refugees in Dadaab have been displaced by raging floods, the agency added. About 30 people have been killed and a million displaced countrywide by the floods, caused by heavy rains that have been pounding Kenya since late April.