At least 32 dead after Kenya dam bursts

NAIROBI: At least 32 people died after a dam burst in central Kenya, sweeping away their homes while many of them were asleep, police said.

After a severe drought, weeks of torrential rains in Kenya have led to flooding and mudslides that have left 164 dead.

The private Patel dam, used for irrigation and fish farming, burst on Wednesday evening in Solai, near the Rift Valley city of Nakuru, regional police chief Gideon Kibunjah said.

“The search and rescue exercise is ongoing and more bodies have been retrieved. The number we have as of now is 32 people dead and several are missing,” Kibunjah said.

“It is a disaster because most people were asleep when the tragedy occurred and their houses were swept away.”

He added that 36 people were hospitalised.

A senior police officer at the scene, speaking on condition of anonymity, said emergency workers spent the night combing through engulfed houses to retrieve the bodies of the victims and had only covered about half of the affected area.

“We found 11 of the bodies covered with mud at a coffee plantation. These were people who may have been trying to escape but could not make it due to the force and speed of the water from the flooded dam,” he said.

“Most of them were women and children who could not have been able to run fast, and the elderly.”

The dam is surrounded by an informal settlement housing casual labourers working on nearby farms.

The Kenyan Red Cross estimated that up to 500 families were affected by the disaster, which took place some 150km northwest of Nairobi.

“We have set up a centre near the scene for families to report missing members to enable us to reunite them,” said Nakuru governor Lee Kinyanjui.

Several villages were affected around Nakuru, Kenya’s fourth largest city, as well as two schools.

Weeks of torrential rains in Kenya have led to flooding and mudslides countrywide.

Government statistics released on Wednesday showed that more than 220,000 people had been displaced by flooding as heavy rains hit the country after three consecu- tive failed rainy seasons left it in drought.

Since March, at least 8,500ha 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 US$5mil (RM19.9mil) to help those affected.

The deluge has affected large parts of East Africa, destroying crops and killing farm animals after a severe drought which sent food prices and inflation soaring and left millions in need of food aid. — AFP