Nairobi: More than 200 people were killed after weeks of torrential rains led to flooding and mudslides and bursting of a dam in southern Kenya. The private Patel dam, used for irrigation and fish farming, burst in Solai, near the Rift Valley city of Nakuru, regional police chief Gideon Kibunjah said. "The search and rescue team has recovered 48 bodies from the site of the dam,” Kibunjah said.
A senior police officer said emergency workers had spent the night combing through engulfed houses to retrieve the bodies of the victims and had recovered 48 bodies from the affected area. "Most of the victims are 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 who work on nearby farms. The Kenyan Red Cross estimates that up to 500 families were affected by the disaster.
More than 159 people were killed in weeks of torrential rains that led to flooding and mudslides. Statistics showed that more than 2,20,000 people have been displaced by flooding as heavy rains hit the country after three consecutive years of drought. Since March, at least 21,000 acres of farmland have been submerged in water with an estimated 20,000 animals perished, 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 for $5 million (four million euros) to help those affected. The deluge has affected large parts of the country, 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.
