Five people have been confirmed to have drowned in Embu County as floods continue to wreak havoc across large parts of the country.
Embu County Commissioner Jack Obuo said two people drowned in Mbea South, two in Mwea and one in Embu West.
Obuo said authorities were monitoring landslide-prone areas to avoid further loss of life as heavy rains continued across the country.
“We have mapped four to five villages in most of the villages in eastern Embu and are also monitoring the Gikri road where cracks have appeared,” he said on Friday night.
“We are worried that the cracks could lead to landslides,” the district chief added, adding that 16 villages in three locations in the Ivroli region were also on alert to deal with floods in the event of a disaster.
The deaths in Embu join at least 10 others reported in Makueni County after a truck attempting to cross the swollen Muatine River in Sultan Hamud was swept away by heavy floods.
The victims were attempting to cross into Ngoto district in Kilome district on the lift of a truck carrying soil.
Weeping crowds on both sides of the road watched helplessly as the unfortunate tragedy unfolded and the raging waters swept the helpless and jubilant riders downstream.
The Kenya Red Cross said it had dispatched first responders to the scene of the accident.
“After the incident, seven people were rescued and immediately transferred to Sultan Hamdo Sub-County Hospital. Our response efforts are ongoing,” the humanitarian agency said.
Tragedy was also waiting to happen at a location on the Garissa-Madgo road. A clip shared online showed a driver attempting to cross a flooded section of the road.
At least 45 people have died from flooding since March, 10 of them since Monday, the Kenya Red Cross said in an update on Thursday.
Officials have not yet released the latest statistics, but the number is believed to have risen sharply by now, given new cases reported across the country.
Residents in Kisii continued Thursday night to recover the body of a woman who fell into the Keyani River late Tuesday.
Gladys Olu, 45, was returning home from her farm in neighboring Transmara when the rickety bridge collapsed.
Residents who participated in the search said that after a grueling search, they managed to recover only part of the lower abdomen.
