- Mai Mahiu by Ian Wafula, Farooq Chotia, London
- bbc news
More than 40 people have been killed after a dam burst in Kenya following heavy rains and flooding, authorities said.
People from a village near Mai Mahiu, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the capital Nairobi, were swept away while sleeping.
“The death toll is 42 people. It's a conservative estimate. There are many more people in the mud,” Nakuru County Governor Susan Kihika told AFP news agency.
Floods that devastated parts of Kenya last month left more than 100 people dead.
Rescue teams are digging through mud in several villages in Nakuru County, including Kamchiri and Keanugu, looking for survivors.
Police Commander Stephen Kirui said 17 of the 42 bodies recovered so far were children, Reuters reported.
“Water came rushing in from the old Kijabe Dam, sweeping away many homes and cars. We have never seen such devastating flooding in all the years we have been here in Maimahiu,” said David Kamau. told the BBC.
Another resident, Peter Muhoho, said most of his neighbors in Keanugu village, which has about 18 houses, were swept away.
Muhoho told the BBC: “I was asleep when I heard a loud bang and screams. Water flooded the area. We started rescuing people.”
Pointing to the bag he was carrying, Muhoho added: “This bag belongs to a child I know. He was washed away. I found it.” [the bag] downstream. “
The government has postponed school openings across Kenya as more rain is expected, forecasters said.
More than 130,000 people have been evacuated due to flooding, with many taking shelter in schools.
Heavy rains also occurred in neighboring Tanzania and Burundi.
At least 155 people have been killed in Tanzania since January.
Nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated in Burundi.
BBC Weather's Chris Fawkes said one of the biggest causes of the rain was the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD).
The IOD, often referred to as the “Indo Niño” because of its resemblance to its Pacific counterpart, refers to the difference in sea surface temperatures in opposite parts of the Indian Ocean.
During the positive phase, waters in the western Indian Ocean are much warmer than normal and more intense rainfall is possible, independent of El Niño.
However, when a positive Indian Ocean Dipole and El Niño occur together, as was the case last year, East Africa's rains can become extreme.
One of the strongest positive Indian Ocean Dipoles on record coincided with one of the strongest El Niño patterns in 1997 and 1998, when severe flooding was reported. These have killed more than 6,000 people in five countries in the region.