More than 70 people have died and dozens are missing in western Kenya after flash floods and a landslide swept away homes and cut off a major highway on Monday.
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Police officer Stephen Kirui initially told the AP that the Old Kijabe Dam, located in the Great Rift Valley region in Kenya, prone to flooding, had collapsed, bringing with it mud, rocks and uprooted trees. But in a statement released on Monday night, Nakuru County said the mass of water that caused the floods sudden came from a clogged railway tunnel.
The vehicles were trapped in the rubble in one of the busiest roads of Kenya and emergency teams treated the injured as water submerged large areas. The Kenya Red Cross reported that 109 people were hospitalized.
More than 200,000 affected by recent floods in Kenya
The continuous rains in Kenya They have provoked floods that have caused the death of at least 169 people since mid-Marchand the country’s Meteorological Department has warned about more rain.
More of 200,000 people in Kenya they have been seen affected by floodswith homes in flood-prone areas submerged and people seeking refuge in schools.
Kenya’s Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki ordered the inspection of all dams and water reservoirs public and private within 24 hours starting Monday afternoon to avoid future incidents. The ministry said recommendations for evacuations and new settlements would be made after the inspection.
The Kenya National Highways Authority issued an alert warning drivers to prepare for the heavy traffic and the debris blocking roads around Naivasha and Narok, west of the capital Nairobi.
Heavy rains and floods also wreak havoc in other East African countries
The vast region of east africa is experiencing flooding due to heavy rains and, according to some reports, 155 people have died in Tanzaniawhile more than 200,000 people have been affected in the neighboring Burundi.
A boat capsized in northern Kenya’s Garissa county on Sunday night, and the Kenya Red Cross said it had rescued 23 people but more than a dozen were still missing.
He Kenya’s main airport was flooded on Saturday, forcing some flights to be diverted, while videos were shared of a flooded runway, terminals and a cargo section. The country’s president, William Ruto, ordered the National Youth Service to provide land to be used as temporary camp for those affected.
