Rescuers are searching for many people missing amid devastating floods ravaging Kenya.
The Ministry of the Interior and National Administration said on Tuesday that a search operation had been launched following the failure of a dam in Mai Mahiu, in the center of the country, the day before. Hundreds of people are believed to have died following heavy rains that have hit East Africa in recent weeks.
At least 46 people were reported killed Monday morning after the dam burst that caused mudslides and flash floods in Mai Mahiu, the ministry said in a situation report. Survivors described an onslaught of water that swept away homes, cars and train tracks.
“When I opened the door, the water gushed out and made its way through the kitchen,” said resident Anne Gachie. “My husband managed to quickly maneuver and get out. My daughters, who were in the next room, were kicked out of the house.
Fifty-three people were reported missing in Mai Mahiu, the Interior Ministry said. Separately, the Kenya Red Cross Society said its tracing office had reported 76 people missing.
The eastern county of Garissa, where four people were killed when their boat capsized over the weekend and 23 others were rescued from floodwaters, reported 16 people missing.
At least 169 people have died across Kenya as heavy rains lashed East Africa since mid-March, causing floods and other disasters.
More than 185,000 Kenyans have been forced from their homes. Hundreds of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in neighboring Tanzania and Burundi.
Scientists say climate change is causing more intense and more frequent extreme weather events.
At least 120 people were killed in Kenya late last year in floods caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon. The rains followed the worst drought much of East Africa has seen in decades.
