Nairobi, 29 April, 2024 (GNP): The Old Kijabe Dam, situated in the Mai Mahiu area of the Great Rift Valley region known for flash floods, collapsed, resulting in water flowing downstream.
Heavy rains and floods wreaked havoc in Kenya’s Rift Valley, causing a dam to burst its banks near a town, resulting in the tragic death of at least 42 people.
On Monday, the dam burst near Mai Mahiu in Nakuru county, sweeping away houses and blocking a road, prompting rescuers to sift through debris in search of survivors.
“Forty-two dead, it’s a conservative estimate. There are still more in the mud, we are working on recovery,” said Nakuru governor Susan Kihika.
The collapse of the dam on Monday brings the total death toll for the March-May wet season to 120, as East Africa experiences heavier-than-usual rainfall exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
Additionally, the Kenya Red Cross announced on Monday that they had recovered two bodies following a boat accident over the weekend in flooded Tana River county in eastern Kenya, where “a large number of people” were onboard. They also reported that 23 individuals had been rescued.
Video footage circulated online and aired on television depicted the overcrowded boat sinking, with passengers screaming as horrified onlookers observed the tragedy.
Officials had reported on Saturday that a total of 76 individuals had lost their lives in Kenya since March.
According to government figures released on Saturday, flash floods have inundated roads and neighborhoods, forcing over 130,000 people from 24,000 households to evacuate, with a significant number affected in the capital Nairobi.
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Schools have been compelled to extend closures following mid-term holidays, as the education ministry declared on Monday a one-week postponement for their reopening due to “persistent heavy rains.”
Turmoil across the region
The monsoons have caused widespread devastation in neighboring Tanzania, where flooding and landslides have claimed the lives of at least 155 people.
In Burundi, one of the world’s poorest nations, approximately 96,000 individuals have been displaced by months of relentless rainfall, as reported by both the United Nations and the government earlier this month.
Uganda has also been affected by severe storms, resulting in riverbanks bursting, two confirmed deaths, and the displacement of several hundred villagers.
Monday’s dam collapse occurred six years after a similar incident in Solai, Nakuru county, which claimed the lives of 48 people, unleashing millions of liters of muddy waters that ravaged homes and destroyed power lines.
The May 2018 tragedy, which involved a private reservoir on a coffee estate, occurred after weeks of relentless rains that triggered fatal floods and mudslides.
El Niño is a naturally recurring climate pattern often linked to global warming, resulting in drought in some regions and heavy rainfall in others.
Late last year, over 300 individuals lost their lives in rains and floods in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, further exacerbating the region’s recovery efforts from its worst drought in four decades, which left millions facing hunger.