NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Flash floods and a landslide swept through houses and cut off a major road in Kenya, killing at least 45 people and leaving dozens missing on Monday, the Interior Ministry said.
Police official Stephen Kirui initially told The Associated Press that the Old Kijabe Dam, located in the Mai Mahiu area of the Great Rift Valley region that is prone to flash floods, had collapsed, carrying with it mud, rocks and uprooted trees.
But in a statement late Monday the Nakuru County said that the water mass that caused the flash floods was a clogged railway tunnel.
Vehicles were entangled in the debris on one of Kenya’s busiest highways and paramedics treated the injured as waters submerged large areas.
The Kenya Red Cross said 109 people were hospitalised while 49 others were reported missing.
William Lokai told Citizen TV that he was woken up by a loud bang and shortly after, water filled his house. He escaped through the roof together with his brother and children.
Ongoing rains in Kenya have caused flooding that has killed at least 169 people since mid-March, and the country’s Meteorology Department has warned of more rainfall.
Photo: Police in Kenya say at least 40 people have died after a dam collapsed in the country’s west. The floodwaters swept through houses and cut off a major road, police official Stephen Kirui told The Associated Press. (AP)
Be the first to comment on "At least 45 people die in western Kenya as floodwaters sweep away houses and cars"