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France 24
France 24
World
FRANCE 24

In pictures: Flash flooding in western Kenya sweeps away homes and cars, killing at least 45

Young men inspect a destroyed car carried by waters in an area heavily affected by torrential rains and flash floods in the village of Kamuchiri, near Mai Mahiu, Kenya, April 29, 2024. © Luis Tato, AFP

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.

Residents wade through flood waters as they recover their belongings after the Nairobi river burst its banks within the Mathare valley settlement in Nairobi, Kenya on April 24, 2024. © Monicah Mwangi, Reuters

But in a statement late Monday the Nakuru County said that the water mass that caused the flash floods was a clogged railway tunnel.

Residents sift through the rubble as they recover their belongings in the Mathare Valley settlement in Nairobi, Kenya on April 25, 2024. © Monicah Mwangi, Reuters
A woman walks past couches that were washed away after heavy flash floods wiped out several homes when a dam burst following heavy rains in the Kamuchiri village of Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya on April 29, 2024. © Thomas Mukoya, Reuters

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.

A man looks at the ruins of a house in the Kamuchiri village of Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya on April 29, 2024. © Thomas Mukoya, Reuters
An image taken by drone shows damaged houses after heavy flash floods in the Kamuchiri village of Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County, Kenya, April 29, 2024. © Edwin Waita, Reuters

The wider East African region is also experiencing flooding due to the heavy rains, and 155 people have reportedly died in Tanzania while more than 200,000 people have been affected in neighbouring Burundi.

More than 200,000 people across Kenya have been hit by the floods, with houses in flood-prone areas submerged and people seeking refuge in schools.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

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