At least 45 people have been killed in Kenya after a dam burst, pushing the death toll from devastating floods to more than 120.
On Monday, at least 45 people were killed in the Mai Mahiu area after a dam burst, and the number of deaths could rise, police said.
Residents said the accident occurred in the dead of night near Mai Mahiu, in Nakuru county, sending water gushing down a hill and engulfing everything in its path.
The deluge cut off a road, uprooted trees, washed away homes and sent vehicles flying.
"We heard what sounded like an earthquake and roars like a moving train," said Margaret Wangechi, a 52-year-old teacher.
The disaster raises the total death toll over the March-May wet season in Kenya to over 120 as heavier than usual rainfall pounds East Africa, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern.
A senior officer at Nakuru County police headquarters told AFP by phone that 45 bodies had been recovered so far, while Nakuru governor Susan Kihika said 110 people were being treated in hospital.
Rescuers were digging through the debris, using hoes and in some cases just their bare hands in a desperate search for survivors.
"We collected some of the bodies held by trees and we don't know how many are under the mud," Stephen Njihia Njoroge, a local resident involved in the emergency efforts, told AFP.
The disaster occurred at Old Kijabedam, a hillside barrier formed naturally over decades after railway construction work by Kenya's former British colonial rulers. The Red Cross has set up a desk at a local school to help families find lost relatives.
Interior Minister KithureKindiki said the government had directed security and intelligence officials to "inspect all public and private dams and water reservoirs in their jurisdictions within 24 hours... (and) recommend cases (for) compulsory evacuation and temporary resettlement."
He also said on X that the authorities would arrest people engaging in "risky behaviour," including motorists attempting dangerous crossings and anyone seeking to transport "passengers across flooded rivers or storm water by unsafe canoes or boats."
His comments came after a boat packed with people capsized at the weekend in flooded Tana River county in eastern Kenya, with the Kenya Red Cross saying it had retrieved two bodies and rescued 23 others.
Video footage shared online and on television showed the crowded boat sinking, with people screaming as onlookers watched in horror.
On Saturday, officials said 76 people had lost their lives in Kenya since March, with more than 130,000 displaced.
