Recent catastrophic floods in Kenya and other parts of East Africa have decimated the region, leaving more than 230 people dead and 47,000-plus households displaced.
The floods are also hitting the country's agricultural sector hard, including its massive floral industry, one of the top foreign-exchange earners for Kenya. Cut flowers are the leading contributor to the country's horticulture revenue, earning $560 million last year, according to a report from Bloomberg.
This could have an outsize impact on the price of flowers, particularly this Mother's Day weekend. The floods, which began at the end of April, have damaged greenhouses and impacted flower supply. The lower temperatures and excess moisture have affected both growth and quality. The heavy rainfall has also made roads impassable and impeded transport, Jack Kneppers, owner of Maridadi Flowers, told Bloomberg. He added that his April production numbers were below target by as many as 1.3 million stems.
Due to increased rainfall from El Niño, the International Organization for Migration called the floods the "harsh realities" of climate change.
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