Kenya: President Ruto orders evacuations after deadly floods
Kenyan President William Ruto on Tuesday deployed the military to evacuate everyone living in flood-prone areas in a nation where 171 people have been killed since March by torrential rains.
Seasonal rains, amplified by the El Nino weather pattern, have devastated the East African nation, with floodwaters engulfing villages and threatening to unleash even more damage in the weeks to come.
In the worst incident, which killed nearly 50 villagers, a makeshift dam burst in the Rift Valley before dawn Monday, sending a torrent of water and mud gushing down a hill and swallowing everything in its path. The tragedy in Kamuchiri village, Nakuru county, was the deadliest episode in the country since the start of the March-May rainy season.
Ruto, who visited the victims of the Kamuchiri deluge after chairing a Cabinet meeting in Nairobi, said his government had drawn up a map of neighbourhoods at risk of flooding.
"The military has been mobilized, the national youth service has been mobilized, all security agencies have been mobilized to assist citizens in such areas to evacuate to avoid any dangers of loss of lives," he said.
People living in the affected areas will have 48 hours to move, he said.
"The forecast is that rain is going to continue, and the likelihood of flooding and people losing lives is real. Therefore, we must take preemptive action," Ruto said.
"It is not a time for guesswork, we are better off safe than sorry."
The Kamuchiri disaster — which killed at least 48 people dead — cut off a road, uprooted trees and destroyed homes and vehicles. Some 26 people were hospitalized, Ruto said, with fears the death toll could rise as search and rescue operations continued.
The Cabinet warned that two dams — Masinga and Kiambere — both less than 200 kilometers (125 miles) northeast of the capital, had "reached historic highs," portending disaster for those downstream.
"While the government encourages voluntary evacuation, all those who remain within the areas affected by the directive will be relocated forcibly in the interest of their safety," a statement said.
