Rainfall and flash floods devastate Kenyan towns

At least 42 people were reported dead on Monday after the Old Kijabe dam burst in central Kenya near Mai Mahiu. Nearly half of the victims were minors, local police commander Stephen Kirui told reporters. The local hospital is full of over 100 patients who are rushed for treatment, local news anchor Lizah Mutuku said on social media. Search and rescue efforts for flash flood victims continue, per the Kenya Red Cross. Footage shows vehicles thrown among piles of muddy debris, which people struggle to clear. In total, over 100 people across the country have died from flooding caused by the country’s long rainy season, according to government spokesman Isaac Mwaura.

What other areas have flooded? Southern counties of Nairobi, Makueni, and Machakos, along with the northwest county of West Pokot, have also experienced major flash floods, Mwaura added. The Rift Valley region has experienced the most damage, with over 185,000 people affected by flooding. Images show the valley’s homes submerged in muddy water and fields washed flat. Heavy rain has also destroyed infrastructure and displaced 650 households in the southern coastal county of Kilifi, Mwaura reported. Floods have caused schools to delay the start of term by a week.

Why is the rainfall so heavy? An El Niño storm system brought an unusually long rainy season and flooding, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Arid lands of pastoralism still struggling to recover from a record drought were hit particularly hard by floods, the group added.

Dig deeper: Read Johanna Huebscher’s report on record flooding last year in neighboring Somalia.