Four bodies recovered as floods death toll hits 50

By David Ohito

The death toll arising from floods continued to rise as Kenya Red Cross warned people living near rivers to be on the watch out as four bodies were retrieved in Kiserian.

The Kenya Red Cross Society put the death toll since March 2012 at 50 as its rescue team battled to pull out bodies trapped in a car swept away by floods in Kiserian area.

Drivers and pedestrians have been similarly put on a red alert while driving past water masses or crossing rivers.

The emergency response organisation warned of dangerous water levels of up to 5 feet and named hotspots as Naivasha, Samburu, Tna River, Thika, Athi River in Kwanzomo and Mang’eli informal settlements, Kiserian, Ruai and parts of Nairobi’s informal settlement as being vulnerable.

It similarly issued a red alert on Tana River basin asking farmers to move to higher grounds. It said Kindaruma and Masinga dams are full to capacity and water may be discharged  by KenGen that could result in flash floods.

The Kiambere dam environs was also described as dangerous as River Tana
may start spilling water and could adversely affect families living down stream.

Four bodies swept away by floods were this morning recovered atop a bridge in Rimpa area of Rongai, the Kenya Red Cross said.

According to the report, a man drowned in Acacia River and others in River Kwekwe in Kiserian.

The latter were in a car in and rescue operations are underway.

In Ruai, another family is marooned by floods and accessing the area has proved difficult for the rescue teams.

Kenya Red Cross also reported that on Friday two middle aged people drowned in River Siea at Lodundokwe, Samburu East.

Heavy rains have been pounding several parts of the country since March 2012 and has impacted Nairobi badly causing heavy traffic jams.