There is good reason to close Hell’s Gate

Hell’s Gate has lived up to its name once again. Seven tourists were swept away by flash floods on Sunday. Their bodies were recovered yesterday.

As a result Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) has suspended visits to the gorges at Hell’s Gate National Park.

Yesterday, survivors recounted how they escaped death by a whisker after water started gushing into the gorges out of the blue.

“Within less than two minutes, water started flowing through the dry gorges. A minute later, our feet were inside a furious river flowing at supersonic speed. We climbed higher and only prayed that the water levels wouldn’t get where we were,” said one of them who was in the so-called Devil’s Bedroom.

Hell’s Gate is a veritable death trap. It doesn’t have to rain for floods to swamp the gorges. According to KWS officials, floods triggered by rains in neighbouring counties such as Nakuru and Nyandarua end up in the area, catching visitors by surprise.

In 2012, seven youthful members of Pentecostal Church of East Africa were killed by floods at Ol Jorwa, one of the areas prone to flash floods within the gorges. Just like in the current case, there was no forewarning that floods would strike. This is shocking.

In modern day Kenya, when we have an advanced Meteorology Department, it is incomprehensible that such needless deaths can occur. Met should be able to warn KWS when danger is on the horizon. Until KWS gives a 100 per cent assurance there would be no flash floods, the only sensible thing to do is to keep visitors off the gorges.