Kenya flood toll rises to 181 as houses and roads are destroyed – More than 190,000 people forced from their homes – “We have lost nearly all our family members. This is the darkest moment for us.”

NAIROBI, 1 May 2024 (Reuters) – Floods and landslides across Kenya have killed 181 people since March, with hundreds of thousands forced to leave their homes, the government and Red Cross said on Wednesday, as dozens more were killed in neighbouring Tanzania and Burundi.

Torrential rain and floods have destroyed homes, roads, bridges, and other infrastructure across the region. The death toll in Kenya exceeds that from floods triggered by the El Nino weather phenomenon late last year.

In the central Kenyan town on Mai Mahiu, where at least 48 died in flash floods on Monday, two bodies were recovered from the debris on Wednesday, Kenya Red Cross South Rift Regional Manager Felix Maiyo said.

Military personnel accompanied by sniffer dogs had joined the search, Maiyo said. Earlier on Wednesday, government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura said the total death toll had risen by 10 to 179.

Last year’s rains followed the worst drought in large parts of East Africa in decades.

In Kitengela, 33 km (20 miles) from Nairobi, Kenya Red Cross workers were helping to rescue residents whose homes were marooned by flood waters.

They were also trying to rescue tourists trapped at camps in Narok, 215 km from Nairobi, the Kenya Red Cross said on X.

Kenya’s national highways authority said it had closed a section of a highway leading to the city and at least three other roads across the country due to flooding and debris.

The disaster prompted Pope Francis to speak out in sympathy with Kenyans during a general audience on Wednesday at the Vatican.

“I … wish to express to the people of Kenya my spiritual closeness at this time as severe flooding has tragically taken the lives of many of our brothers and sisters, injured others and caused widespread destruction,” he said.

Kenya flood toll rises to 181 as homes and roads are destroyed

With shovels, rescuers search for rising number of Kenya flood victims

MAI MAHIU, Kenya, 30 April 2024 (Reuters) – Rescuers were digging through mud with shovels on Tuesday to recover victims’ bodies as the number of people still missing rose steadily after rains triggered heavy flooding and landslides across Kenya.

At least 48 people were killed and a further 84 remained missing after a mudslide and flash floods hit the town of Mai Mahiu in central Kenya early on Monday, the Kenya Red Cross said.

Survivors in Mai Mahiu described an onslaught of water that swept away houses, cars and railway tracks.

“When I opened the door, the water gushed in and made its way through the kitchen,” said resident Anne Gachie.

“My husband managed to quickly manoeuvre and get out. My daughters who were in the next room were swept out of the house by the force of the water.”

Tabitha Wanja lost eight members of her family, including her seven-month-old niece. “This is a bad dream… We have lost nearly all our family members. This is the darkest moment for us,” she said before breaking into tears.

In all, at least 169 people have died across Kenya since last month due to heavy rains and flooding.

More than 190,000 people have been forced from their homes, including 147,000 in the capital Nairobi, according to the president’s office. Several parts of the country should expect further heavy rainfall in the coming days, it said.

“Those citizens who are living in landslide-prone areas, we are asking you to leave,” Kenyan President William Ruto said in a speech while visiting flood survivors in Mai Mahiu.

“The risk of losing lives is real,” he said, adding that he was instructing the military to help in the search for victims.

Dozens more people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced by heavy downpours in Tanzania and Burundi, with scientists saying climate change is causing more intense and frequent extreme weather events.

The eastern Kenyan county of Garissa, where four people were killed when their boat capsized over the weekend and 23 others were rescued from the floodwaters, has reported 16 people missing, the interior ministry said.

At least 120 people were killed in Kenya late last year by flooding caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon. Those rains followed the worst drought that large parts of East Africa had experienced in decades.

With shovels, rescuers search for rising number of Kenya flood victims