Heavy rains to persist as number of missing persons rises

Forecasters say heavy rains that led to deaths of 188 Kenyans will continue this weekend.

The Met Department warned Kenyans to take caution as the predicted rains could bring more flooding to already soaked parts of the the country.

At least 188 people have lost their lives due to ongoing heavy rains in the country, the Ministry of Interior said.

“Rainfall is expected to continue over several parts of the country,” head of Meteorological Department Dr David Gikungu said in an update.

He added: “Heavy rainfall events are likely to occur in some parts of the Highlands East and West of the Rift Valley, the Lake Victoria Basin, the Rift Valley, the South-eastern lowlands, North-western and North-eastern Kenya”.

The update comes as the Ministry of Interior said nine fatalities had been reported in the last 24 hours.

So far, 90 people are registered as missing while 125 people have been reported injured.

The number of displaced households is 33,100, affecting approximately 165,500 people.

In total, at least 196,296 people have been impacted by the heavy rains.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said 1,967 schools have been affected by the floods.

He said the emergency response teams from Narok county alongside the county security team and Kenya Red Cross successfully evacuated 90 individuals in coordinated efforts by ground and aerial units in the Maasai Mara.

At the Mara, 19 lodges were flooded after River Talek overflowed.

The CS said there were no fatalities reported, adding that a tracing desk had been set up at the Maasai Mara Sekenani gate.

In Maai Mahiu, Nakuru county, 151 Kenya Defence Forces officers are actively engaged, where 52 deceased persons were retrieved and 51 people still missing following the mudslide tragedy.

The Maai Mahiu-Narok road is now clear and open for traffic.

At least 400 National Youth Service members were deployed to reinforce the ongoing search and rescue operations in both Maai Mahiu and Talek area, Narok county.

A nationwide assessment of all dams has been conducted and 192 dams identified to be high risk.

They are distributed as follows: in Central (60), Eastern (39), Rift Valley (29), Coast(22), Western (21), Nairobi (12), North Eastern (5) and Nyanza (4).

Kindiki stated that inspection teams have been dispatched to ascertain the dams’ integrity.

He said there is a need for food, medical kits and non-food items in the counties where search and rescue operations are still ongoing including Nairobi, Kirinyaga, Homa Bay and Tana River counties.

It is expected that there will be favourable weather in the North Eastern (Isiolo, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa) and South Eastern (Taita Taveta, Kitui, Tana River) regions.

This, Kindiki said, sets the stage for post-flood recovery initiatives in public works, the reconstruction of schools, repairs to water treatment systems, road repairs and improvements to the accessibility of social and economic facilities.

He, however, said that in over 28 counties heavy rainfall and thunderstorms have been experienced.

This is in the Western region (Kakamega, Vihiga, Busia, Bungoma and Trans Nzoia); Lake Victoria Basin (Kisumu, Kisii, Nyamira, Migori, Siaya, Homabay); Rift Valley (Nandi, Bomet, Nakuru, Elgeyo Marakwet, West Pokot, Baringo, Uasin Gishu and Narok); Central (Nyeri, Muranga, Kirinyaga, Kiambu, Laikipia); Upper Eastern (Embu, Tharaka Nithi, Meru) and Nairobi.

In the last 24 hours, Nairobi, Kajiado, Nakuru, Mandera and Homa Bay Counties have suffered from flooding, with landslides and mudslides continuing to occur in Muranga and Nakuru Counties.