Kenya floods leave 76 dead as truck is swept away in deluge

The death toll due to floods in Kenya has risen to 76, with 29 people injured and 19 still missing, a government spokesperson said, as authorities ordered more evacuations of people from at-risk areas due to ongoing heavy rainfall.

“Nairobi is currently experiencing the highest impact, with a significant death toll of 32 and 16,909 households displaced,” Isaac Maigua Mwaura said in a statement, adding that 24,196 households had been displaced, comprising about 131,450 people. The government and humanitarian agencies have erected 50 camps across the country to house the displaced, Mwaura said.

Earlier Friday, a truck carrying people in Makueni County, southern Kenya, “was swept away by raging waters,” according to the Kenyan Red Cross, which described it as “a distressing incident.” The Red Cross has rescued more than 300 people since the onset of the heavy rain in March.

This comes after Kenyan President William Ruto announced Thursday that he had authorized emergency crews to evacuate people living along riverbanks and other affected areas forcibly. “Unfortunately, we will have to move some of them even without them agreeing, because otherwise, they put themselves in danger,” Ruto said.

The president said that he is working with multi-agency teams to “provide adequate support to all those in need and to move citizens who are in dangerous areas that may be susceptible to floods away from those areas.”

According to the Red Cross, 26 of Kenya’s 47 counties have been affected by the flooding.

On Thursday, the Kenya Meteorological Department issued an advisory, explaining that heavy rainfall will continue in several parts of Kenya, including Nairobi, although the intensity is likely to reduce on Sunday.

The flooding in East Africa has also affected Tanzania and Burundi. Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Thursday that at least 155 people have been killed by flooding in the country.