In Summary
At least 41 people died after a dam burst in Nakuru, police said
Thursday, as residents described muddy waters ripping through their
homes in what one survivor called "hell on earth".
After a severe drought, weeks of torrential rains in Kenya have led to flooding and mudslides that have left 172 dead.
The
private Patel Dam, used for irrigation and fish farming, burst its
earthen banks on Wednesday evening in Solai, regional police chief
Gideon Kibunjah said.
The raging
waters wiped out two villages, a local resident said, while power lines
were swept away, leaving many without electricity. The search for
victims on Thursday afternoon by heavy rains.
"We
have 41 people dead from this tragedy," Kibunjah said, adding 20 of
them were children. He said the search for victims was still going on.
"It is a disaster because most people were asleep when the tragedy occurred and their houses were swept away."
He said 36 people had been hospitalised.
'Hell on earth'
Survivor
Ngugi Njoroge said he and his family had been having dinner when there
was a "loud explosion of water that washed away our home."
"I
was with my parents and my younger brother. I don't know where they
are. I was carried away by the water but I was lucky as I clung to a
tree until the water subsided," he said from his hospital bed.
"It was like hell on earth."
Miriam Karimi said she could not find any of her three children, including her four-year-old son.
"When we heard noises, we thought it was raining heavily nearby. I'm so confused. I hope they are alive," she said.
A
senior police officer at the scene, speaking on condition of anonymity,
said emergency workers had spent the night combing through engulfed
houses to retrieve bodies.
"We found
11 of the bodies covered with mud at a coffee plantation and these are
people who may have been escaping but could not make it due to the force
and speed of the water from the flooded dam," he said.
"Most of them are women and children who could not have been able to run fast, and the elderly."
The dam is close to an informal settlement housing casual labourers who work on nearby farms.
The Kenyan Red Cross estimates that up to 500 families were affected by the disaster.
Deadly rainy season
Weeks of torrential rains in Kenya have led to flooding and mudslides countrywide.
Government
statistics released Wednesday showed that more than 220,000 people have
been displaced by flooding as heavy rains hit the country after three
consecutive failed rainy seasons had left it in drought.
Since
March, at least 21,000 acres of farmland have been submerged in water
with an estimated 20,000 animals killed, the Red Cross said last week.
The
floods have also destroyed road networks in some parts of the East
African country and in some cases the military has stepped in to airlift
residents from submerged houses.
The Red Cross appealed last week for $5 million to help those affected.
The
deluge has affected large parts of East Africa, destroying crops and
killing farm animals after a severe drought which had sent food prices
and inflation soaring and left millions in need of food aid.
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