Floods: Death toll hits 83 as Gov’t warns Seven Forks Dams may overflow

The death toll from floods has risen to 83 after 13 more bodies were recovered within the last day.

Four bodies were retrieved from River Kwa Musii in Makueni, bringing the number of deaths from the lorry incident to nine.

Another body was recovered in Mathare, bringing the death toll in Nairobi to 15, as three others including a man, his wife and their neighbour drowned in Machakos after the swollen Tindanda River swept away their vehicle. 

Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura, who addressed the press on Saturday, said the floods have displaced 24,196 households comprising 131,450 people, as he affirmed that the State has stepped up the search and rescue mission through a multi-agency team. 

This as hundreds of families continue to bear the brunt of the floods.

This brings the total number of casualties nationwide to 83 after the government reported that 70 people had died by Friday as a result of the heavy rains.

“29 Kenyans have been injured and 19 missing persons have been reported and Nairobi has seen several affected with 32 deaths reported and 16,909 households displaced,” said Mwaura.

The government spokesperson said the heavy downpour has affected all 47 counties with 16 deaths reported in the Rift Valley region, 16 injuries and 780 households displaced.

In Eastern, 11 deaths, 10 injuries and 2,260 household displacements were reported while Nyanza and Western had 6 deaths each, 168 and 1870 household displacements respectively.

Central has recorded 3 deaths and 2 injuries while the Coastal region has reported 2 deaths and 303 household displacements so far.

“The floods have submerged numerous settlements displacing 24,196 households comprising 131,450 people and endangering quite several others,” he stated.

In Mororo village in Tana River County, residents have been forced to set up camps next to the highway in search of safety.

Transport is paralyzed along the Nairobi-Garissa highway which was partly swept away by floods, leaving buses full of passengers and trucks full of food and other critical supplies stranded, unable to reach their destinations.

The Kenya Red Cross has set up about 59 IDP camps, rescued 350 people distributed non-food items to over 22,000 people and supported over 360 households with food.

The weatherman has predicted that rainfall is expected to continue over several parts of the country with over 40 counties expected to receive heavy rainfall in the coming days.

“We expect the rain to subside by tomorrow but we will get a real update on Tuesday at 3 pm from the weatherman so that we know how next week anticipates. We expect that Monday and Tuesday the rains will not be as pounding, but we advise move to a safer ground rather than building back, and you do not know whether the rains are coming,” said Mwaura.

Mwaura noted that the Seven Forks Hydro Dams are already full and urged residents in the surrounding areas to take caution.

“For example, Masinga Dam is a 3 by 3 kilometre radius and it has spilt over by another 2 km, already by yesterday it had moved by about 1.2 metres high. Please Kenyans move away from this, we are also expecting mudslides because the earth is also giving in,” said Mwaura.

The government has severally promised to deploy its officers to help with evacuations, search and rescue and other interventions.

Despite the assurance by the government, there is virtually no government presence on the ground where the unforgiving waters continue to wreak havoc claiming lives, disrupting livelihoods and destroying property.

Over 750 families are counting losses in Kirinyaga, one of the counties that have been hit hard by the floods, a county that has not experienced the flooding problem at this scale before.

According to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD’s ) Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), forecasts for the week of April 27 – May 4, 2024, indicate ongoing threats of heavy rainfall in central to western Kenya, northern Uganda, southern Ethiopia, and central Somalia.