Many die in Kenya due to heavy rainfall causing widespread destruction.
Kihika claims that the region's flooding was aggravated by a dam breaking, but local inhabitants and first responders reported to CNN that the catastrophe was instigated by water blasting through a tunnel under a railway bridge with a blocked culvert.
Kenya has been dealing with weeks of severe rains and disastrous flash floods.
In Mai Mahiu, members of a CNN team have come across knocked-over vehicles, uprooted trees, and houses that had been swept away in extensive flooding.
CNN has observed substantial damage to one of the most impacted areas from the flooding in Nakuru county, which stretched out for several kilometers in every direction. A forlorn man disclosed to CNN that he was concerned multiple family members might still be buried under the sludge and rubble.
Rescue teams are clearing their way through the mud and rubble in an attempt to locate survivors. Kihika informed CNN that the death toll may surge considerably.
The catastrophe surfaced as floods inundated significant sections of Kenya, claiming a minimum of 103 lives and compelling countless locals from their homes since March, as said by government spokesperson Isaac Maigua Mwaura on Monday.
In Mai Mahiu, Kihika stated a crucial situation was manifesting as flood waters wiped away people and dwellings.
"We're attempting to grasp the situation even though it's a bit overwhelming, but we're doing the utmost to reach those who've been taken away because we speculate that some are still alive," mentioned Kihika.
Access to Mai Mahiu, 20 miles away from the capital Nairobi, has been problematic due to a portion of the street being demolished by recent excessive rains. Teams are removing rubbish while they struggle to reach survivors and salvage corpses, she added.
On Monday, the Kenya Red Cross Society disclosed that a several individuals had been conveyed to a health facility in Mai Mahiu due to Kamuchiri village's flash floods.
"The floodwaters traced back to a nearby river that surpassed its banks," the society stated.
Since mid-March, Kenya has experienced persistent rain, but the precipitation has intensified in the last week, resulting in widespread flooding.
"Kenya is undergoing an escalating flood dilemma due to the assorted impacts of El Niño and the ongoing March-May 2024 long rains," said Jagan Chapagain, IFRC Secretary General and CEO, in a post on X, referring to the atmospheric fluctuation that stems from the Pacific Ocean along the equator and alters the climate across the globe.
"Since November 2023, El Niño sparked alarming floods and torrents that have caused more than 100 deaths and marked damage."
Additionally, an additional climate anomaly dubbed a positive Indian Ocean Dipole, akin to El Niño yet originating from the Indian Ocean along the East African coast, is also contributing to the excessive precipitation, asserted Joyce Kimutai, a researcher at Imperial College London's Grantham Institute, and the previous main meteorologist at the Kenya Meteorological Department.
In addition to these natural climate patterns, the long-term trend of human-induced global warming is "extremely likely" to be affecting the intense rainfall, as warm air can retain more moisture, Kimutai informed CNN.
The Horn of Africa, encompassing Kenya, is one of the most susceptible areas globally to climate changes.
The lethal rains across the Horn of Africa at the close of last year, which claimed at least 300 lives, were approximately double the intensity they would've been without climate change, according to a December assessment by researchers at the World Weather Attribution project.
The consequences of Kenya's latest rains might have been exacerbated by hitting on exceedingly difficult, dry grounds following years of devastating drought, which affected various regions in Kenya, slaying livestock and crops and establishing extensive hunger and water shortage. This drought was 100 times more probable due to pollution from the burning of fossil fuels, an April study by WWA revealed.
"When individuals are still reeling from one extreme weather occurrence, they become susceptible to another," conveyed Kimutai.
Approximately 131,450 people have been affected by floods that surged through approximately half of Kenya.
Images and footage from Nairobi, which has been enormously interfered with, depict individuals relegated to rooftops or rescuing whatever they can from residences ruined by the flash floods.
Also, footage portrays immense flooding along the Tana River, with huge portions of the surrounding terrain engulfed. Roadways, properties, and vehicles are submerged.
The Ministry of Education disclosed on Monday that all primary and secondary schools would postpone the beginning of the new academic year by one week until May 6.
On Sunday, the Kenya Red Cross Society disclosed that 23 people had been extricated and several were missing after a boat capsized at Kona Punda while on its way to Mororo, Tana River County, on Sunday.
To date, the society has rescued over 300 people since the commencement of the downpour in March.
Disastrous rains in East Africa have impacted Tanzania and Burundi as well. Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa proclaimed on Thursday that not less than 155 people have been killed by flooding in the nation.
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Source: edition.cnn.com
