The failure of a dam about one hundred kilometers northwest of Nairobi (Kenya) as a result of heavy rains and flooding caused the death of at least 45 people on Monday, April 29, according to the local governor. This catastrophe brings to 120 the total number of fatalities in the country's wet season, which runs from March to May. Heavy rains and flooding have caused schools to close, while rescue teams search for dozens of missing people.
First modification:
6 min
At least 45 people died in Kenya after the failure, on Monday, April 29, of a dam northwest of the capital, Nairobi, while the country was devastated by torrential rains, some with fatal consequences, and kept its schools closed.
“There are other people trapped in the mud that we are trying to find,” said local governor Susan Kihika, who initially reported 42 deaths.
Authorities believe that the number of victims may rise, while rescue teams search for more missing and affected by the flash flood caused by the collapse of the dam walls and the overflowing of the waters.
The dam burst near the town of Mai Mahiu in Nakuru county in the Rift Valley, about 100 kilometers northwest of Nairobi, leveling homes and submerging roads that are now closed to traffic.
This catastrophe brings to 120 the total number of fatalities in the wet season, which runs from March to May. The Kenyan Red Cross announced on Monday that it had recovered two bodies after a boat carrying “a large number of people” capsized over the weekend in the swollen Tana River in the east of the country. Twenty-three people were rescued, according to the same source. Videos shared online show the overcrowded ship sinking with passengers screaming.
In addition, the organization has also reported that rescue teams They are actively searching for 49 students reported missing in a girls' secondary school at Ngeya, in Mai Mahiu, Naivasha, 92 kilometers north of Nairobi; while another 109 people had already been rescued and transferred to various hospitals in Naivasha, in the same town.
We have set up a tracing desk at Ngeya Girls Secondary School in Mai Mahiu, Naivasha.
So far, 49 people have been reported as missing at our desk.
Additionally, we are providing psychosocial support services to the affected families, alongside a multi-agency team. https://t.co/6hWnztPFBR pic.twitter.com/Sc4vnaa1LP
—Kenya Red Cross (@KenyaRedCross) April 29, 2024
On Friday, the Kenyan government asked the population to prepare for even more intense rains and reported a first toll of 76 fatalities from the floods since March. Kenya and much of East Africa have been experiencing heavier-than-usual seasonal rains for several weeks as a result of El Niño, a phenomenon that also occurred in November 2019, when torrential rains caused dozens of deaths and damage in Kenya and Tanzania.
Kenya is not the only one affected by the heavy rainfall and wet season: Heavy downpours “linked to the El Niño climate phenomenon” are hitting several East African countries and in Tanzania they have already claimed more than 150 lives. The unprecedented storms have been caused by a combination of the rainy season and a new episode of the El Niño weather phenomenon.
Read alsoHundreds dead due to rainy season in East Africa
Schools closed
Flash floods have submerged roads and entire neighborhoods, displacing more than 130,000 people in Kenya, many of them in the capital Nairobi, according to official figures released Saturday.
Schools had to remain closed after the last holidays and the Ministry of Education announced on Monday that the start of the new school year had been postponed by a week due to “heavy rains”.
{{ scope.counterText }}
{{ scope.legend }}
© {{ scope.credits }}
{{ scope.counterText }}
“The devastating effect of the rain on some schools is so great that it would be reckless to risk the lives of students and staff“declared the Minister of Education, Ezekiel Machogu.
It has also wreaked havoc in neighboring Tanzania, where at least 155 people have died in floods or landslides. In Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world, some 96,000 people have been displaced by months of non-stop rain, the United Nations and the government announced earlier this month.
The El Niño phenomenon
Uganda has also suffered severe storms that have caused flooding, leading to at least two deaths and the displacement of hundreds of villagers.
In 2018, in the same Nakuru county where Mai Mahiu is located, the failure of the Solai dam, also caused by torrential rains and flooding, had already claimed 48 lives, releasing millions of liters of muddy water that devastated homes and power lines. electrical.
The El Niño climate phenomenon, which is suspected to have contributed to the current situation, is generally associated with higher global temperatureswhich cause droughts in some regions and floods in others.
Late last year, more than 300 people died from rains and floods in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, as the region tried to recover from its worst drought in 40 years, which left millions of people hungry.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) declared in March that the current El Niño phenomenon was one of the five most powerful on record.
With information from Reuters, AP and local media.
#Kenya #dead #dam #collapses #due #heavy #rains