SOLAI, Kenya (Reuters) - A dam on a commercial flower farm in Kenya’s Rift Valley burst after weeks of torrential rain, unleashing a “sea of water” that careered down a hillside and smashed into two villages, killing at least 47 people.

The walls of the reservoir, on top of a hill in Nakuru county, 190 km (120 miles) northwest of Nairobi, gave way late on Wednesday as nearby residents were sitting down to evening meals.

Kenya is one of the largest suppliers of cut flowers to Europe, and roses from the 3,500-acre Solai farm are exported to the Netherlands and Germany, according to Optimal Connection, its Netherlands-based handling agent.

The floodwaters carved out a dark brown chasm in the hillside and swept away everything in their path - powerlines, homes and buildings, including a primary school.

The bodies of two women were found several km (miles) away as excavators and rescue workers armed with shovels picked through rubble and mud searching for survivors and victims.

Local police chief Japheth Kioko said the death toll could climb. “So far it is 47 dead. We are still on the ground,” he told Reuters.

Nakuru governor Lee Kinyanjui said on Twitter that another 40 people were reported missing and a decision had been made to discharge water from another nearby dam as a precaution.

After a severe drought last year, East Africa has been hit by two months of heavy rain, affecting nearly a million people in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Uganda. Bridges have been swept away and roads turned into rivers of mud.

In Solai, Veronica Wanjiku Ngigi, 67, said she was at home brewing tea with her son at about 8 pm (1700 GMT) when his wife rushed in to say the dam had burst and they needed to get to higher ground immediately.

A child walks in his house, which was partly destroyed by flooding water after a dam burst, in Solio town near Nakuru, Kenya. REUTERS/Thomas Mukoya

“It was a sea of water. My neighbor was killed when the water smashed through the wall of his house. He was blind, so he could not run. They found his body in the morning,” she said. “My other neighbors also died. All our houses have been ruined.”

BOULDERS, ROOTS

Nakuru lies in the heart of Kenya’s fertile Rift Valley, home to thousands of commercial farms that grow everything from French beans to macadamia nuts to cut flowers, nearly all of which are exported to Europe.

The region is dotted with irrigation reservoirs built in the last two decades to meet the demands of the rapidly expanding agricultural sector, the biggest foreign exchange earner for East Africa’s largest economy and a major source of jobs.

Vinoj Kumar, general manager of the Solai farm, blamed the disaster on massive rainfall in a forest above the dam.

“In the past two days the intensity of the rain was high and the water started coming down carrying boulders and roots which damaged the wall,” he told Reuters. “The dam wall cracked and the water escaped.”

Governor Kinyanjui said 450 homes had been hit by the floodwaters and safety engineers had been sent to inspect three other dams to check for cracks or breaches.

Wanjiku, the survivor, said at least one looked like it was ready to burst. “There is another dam which is also overflowing which is looking risky,” she said. “We are scared.”

One primary school had been closed as a precaution, education officials said. Arriving at the scene, Interior Minister Fred Matiangi pledged central government assistance to those affected.

Slideshow (5 Images)

To date, heavy rains have caused havoc in Kenya, killing at least 158 people and displacing 299,859, according to the government and Kenya Red Cross. Roads and bridges have been destroyed, causing millions of dollars of damage.

The U.N. disaster agency UNOCHA said 580,000 people had been affected by torrential rain and flooding in neighboring Somalia, while the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia had also taken a hammering, with 160,000 people affected.

The flooding could yet get worse, with heavy rains forecast to continue in the Rift Valley and the Lake Victoria basin over the next few weeks.</s>| Published Thu, May 10th 2018 at 09:32, Updated May 10th 2018 at 09:59 GMT +3

At least 20 people have been killed and hundreds left homeless after Patel Dam in Solai, Nakuru County broke its banks. A man rescues a victim of the Patel Dam tragedy who was found stuck in the mud. Over hundreds have been rendered homeless. (Harun Wathari, Standard)

More people are still missing and there are fears the number of casualties could rise.

ALSO READ: Eight people killed after Patel Dam bursts its banks in Solai, Nakuru

The dam breached its banks, sweeping away hundreds of homes in the neighbourhood, including those on the expansive Nyakinyua Farm, which borders the water reservoir. Solai residents gather on one of the affected roads after Patel Dam after it burst its bank last night. The injured have been rushed to various hospitals in Nakuru County. (Harun Wathari, Standard)

Red Cross says the rescued people have been rushed to various health facilities in Subukia and Rift Valley General Provincial Hospital. One of the homes that was destroyed by raging waters from the Patel Dam in Solai, Subukia. (Harun Wathari, Standard)

The dam approximately 1 acre broke its banks on Wednesday night releasing its waters to the nearby shopping centre and the expansive Nyakinyua farm bordering the dam.

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Property worth of billions of shillings was destroyed by the raging waters as most structures that stood along the water way were swept to a radius of over 3Kilometres. Rescuers in the search and rescue mission. 20 bodies have so far been retrieved. (Harun Wathari, Standard)

Solai Boys’ High School and Patel Day Secondary School have also been affected by the flooding water. A team of rescuers from NYS carry the body of one of the victims that were affected by the Patel Dam tragedy. (Harun Wathari, Standard)</s>A dam has burst its banks in Kenya’s Rift Valley, killing at least 38 people and forcing hundreds from their homes, officials have said.

Water burst through the banks of the Patel dam in Solai, 190km north-west of the capital, Nairobi, on Wednesday night, sweeping away hundreds of homes, including those on the expansive Nyakinyua farm, which borders the reservoir.

“We have recovered 38 bodies and many people are missing. It is a disaster,” said Joseph Kioko, chief of police in the town of Rongai.

Almost an entire village was swept by silt and water, said Gideon Kibunja, the Nakuru county police chief in charge of criminal investigations.

Up to 40 people were rescued from the mud and taken to hospital in rescue operations conducted by the Kenya Red Cross and Nakuru County disaster management teams. Many more are feared to be trapped under debris and mud. Officials said the dam water and mud spewed out of the reservoir and submerged homes over a radius of nearly 2km (1.2 miles).

Kenya’s interior cabinet secretary, Fred Matiangi, has arrived at the site to talk with those affected and assess the situation.

It has been suggested that the walls of the dam may have collapsed due to the huge volume of water accumulated following heavy rainfall since March.

According to BBC reports, local leaders want to know whether the farmer was licensed to erect the dam, one of three he owns in the area. There are concerns that the other two dams, which are also said to be full, could also burst their banks.

Amid mounting scrutiny of the local authorities, Lee Maiyani Kinyanjui, governor of Nakuru County, tweeted: “We assure residents that we are doing our best to evacuate affected families to safety and assist victims [to] get medical attention. We urge residents to be vigilant due to flooding caused by heavy rains experienced in the county and other parts of the country.”

Kenya is already reeling from the effect of heavy rains and flash flooding that have hit east Africa.

Before the dam burst, flooding had claimed the lives of at least 132 people since March, the Kenyan government said on Wednesday.

At least 225,436 people have been displaced from their homes, according to a government statement. Military helicopters and personnel have for the past week been deployed to rescue people marooned by the flooding.

The floods hit as Kenya was recovering from a severe drought that had affected half of the country.</s>People gather in front of the broken banks of the Patel dam in Kenya's Rift Valley on Thursday, May 10. The Kenya Red Cross Society estimated that up to 500 families have been affected by the disaster.

A school boy walks down a steep hillside, created when water from the breach swept soil away.

People survey the area of erosion caused by the flood. According to Lee Kinyanjui, the governor of Nakuru County, those affected by the dam are "mostly workers and small-scale farmers."

Locals walk through areas decimated by the floodwaters. The Patel Dam burst its banks around 9 p.m. Wednesday, May 9 after heavy rains weakened the structure.

Volunteers search for survivors in a residential area on May 10.

People gather around victims' bodies in a residential area. At least 32 people died as a result of the dam breach.

Local residents wait inside an ambulance. Lee Kinyanjui, the governor of Nakuru County, said food and other items have been donated to displaced families and a center was set up for families to report missing relatives.</s>At least 20 people have been confirmed dead in Kenya after the Patel Dam in the town of Nakuru located in the Great Rift Valley region burst as a result of heavy rains that have been pounding the region.

The water released from the dam flooded villages sweeping away homes leaving residents chest-deep in water.

Speaking to the media, Rongai police chief Japheth Kioko confirmed the deaths saying that 20 bodies had been recovered from the village and that rescue operations were still ongoing as some villagers have yet to be accounted for.

"The rains started yesterday at night and then we had a crack then a loud bang, soon there was water everywhere and the electricity went out,” said Beatrice Wanyonyi.

"The number of the people who died is likely to increase," she added. "So many people are yet to be found."

A team from the Red Cross, which is handling the rescue operations with members from the county government said in a statement that ”39 people [were] taken to hospital last night after Patel Dam in Subukia, Nakuru County, broke its banks affecting nearby villages".

The incident increased the death toll in Kenya from the current floods to 152 deaths which have been recorded in the past two months.

A government statement released earlier this week had put the number of people displaced by floods in Kenya at 222,456, a number that is likely to increase following the thousands who have been left homeless in Nakuru County.

The Kenyan government has so far used $6 million to purchase food and medicine which has been distributed to the affected in 32 counties out of the 42 that makeup Kenya.</s>Water burst through the banks of the Patel Dam in Solai, Nakuru County, on Wednesday night, sweeping away hundreds of homes, including those on the expansive Nyakinyua Farm, which borders the reservoir.

"We have recovered 38 bodies and many people are missing. It is a disaster," said Rongai police chief Joseph Kioko. Almost an entire village was swept by silt and water, said Gideon Kibunja the county police chief in charge of criminal investigations.

Up to 40 people have been rescued from the mud and taken to hospital on Thursday morning in rescue operations by the Kenya Red Cross and Nakuru County disaster management teams. Many more are feared still trapped. Officials said the dam water and mud spewed out of the reservoir and submerged homes over a radius of nearly 2km.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi was set to visit the site on Thursday.

At least 132 people have died since March from floods caused by seasonal rains, Kenya's government said Wednesday. The deaths from the dam burst raise the death toll to nearly 170 people. At least 225,436 people have been displaced from their homes, according to a government statement. Military helicopters and personnel have for the past week been deployed to rescue people marooned by the flooding.

The floods hit as this East African nation was recovering from a severe drought that had affected half of the country.

Volunteers search for survivors in a residential area after Patel dam burst its bank at Solai, about 40 km north of Nakuru, Kenya. (AFP)

Volunteers search for survivors in a residential area after Patel dam burst its bank at Solai, about 40km north of Nakuru, Kenya. (AFP)

People gather around victim's bodies at a residential area after Patel dam burst its bank at Solai, about 40kmnorth of Nakuru, Kenya. (AFP)</s>SOLAI, Kenya (Reuters) - A dam burst in Kenya after weeks of torrential rain, unleashing a torrent of water that smashed into two villages killing at least 21 people and causing “huge destruction”, rescue services and government officials said.

The walls of the Patel dam, situated on top of a hill in Nakuru county, 190 km (120 miles) northwest of Nairobi, gave way late on Wednesday.

Floodwaters swept away powerlines, homes and buildings, including a primary school, a Reuters photographer on the scene said, as rescue workers picked through rubble and mud searching for survivors.

East Africa, much of which suffered severe drought last year, has been hit by heavy rain over the last two months that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Uganda.

Even before this week’s dam-burst, rains had killed 132 people and displaced 222,000 in Kenya alone, according to the government.

The St. John Ambulance service said at least 21 people had been killed downstream of the dam. The Kenya Red Cross said 39 people had been rescued from the mud.

“The water has caused huge destruction of both life and property. The extent of the damage has yet to be ascertained,” Nakuru governor Lee Kinyajui said in a statement.</s>Dam Collapse Leaves At Least 20 Dead In Kenya

As residents of the small town of Solai in central Kenya describe it, the loud boom happened at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

Nakuru Gov. Lee Kinyanjui told KTN News that the water rushed out of the dam at an incredible speed, taking with it homes and people.

"When this tragedy occurred, the lights went off, the [electricity] poles were washed away and the whole town was rendered dark," Kinyanjui said.

Television images showed cars engulfed in mud and residents emerging from the wreckage dazed. Kenya Red Cross spokeswoman Noellah Musundi, who was on the ground, said that while rescue efforts were still ongoing, 20 people were confirmed dead and about 450 homes were destroyed.

The current rainy season has been devastating for the whole East African region. Earlier this week, a mudslide in Rwanda left 18 people dead. And in Kenya, this latest tragedy brings the death toll from floods to more than 120 people.

The Red Cross reports that more than 260,000 Kenyans have been displaced by the rains, which came after a gruesome drought.

"It's a tragedy to the entire country," Musundi said. "Looking at families being displaced, children, mothers, the elderly being swept away by floods, it's traumatizing."

The Kenya Meteorological Department says much of the region will see no respite from the rain.

The Daily Nation reports that the dam in Solai is owned by Mansukul Patel, a "large-scale irrigation farmer." The paper reports that an investigation is underway to find out if Patel "was licensed to set up the reservoirs."</s>The European Union on Thursday offered Kenya emergency aid after the Patel dam burst on Wednesday in the western town of Solai, killing at least 32 people.

Rescue operations are still ongoing and the death toll could increase as many were still missing and hundreds feared to have lost their homes.</s>More than 30 killed in Kenya after dam collapse

More than 30 people have been killed in Kenya's Rift Valley after a dam burst its banks following weeks of torrential rain that also forced hundreds from their homes, officials said, Al Jazeera reported.

Water burst through the banks of the Patel Dam in Solai, Nakuru County, on Wednesday night, sweeping away hundreds of homes, including those on the expansive Nyakinyua Farm, which borders the reservoir.

"We have recovered 38 bodies and many people are missing. It is a disaster," Rongai police chief Joseph Kioko said on Thursday.

Up to 40 people were rescued from under the mud - many more are feared trapped - and taken to hospital on Thursday morning by the Kenya Red Cross and Nakuru County disaster management teams.

Officials said the water and mud spewed out of the reservoir submerged homes over a radius of nearly two kilometres.

"It was a sea of water. My neighbour was killed when the water smashed through the wall of his house. He was blind so he could not run. They found his body in the morning," Veronica Wanjiku Ngigi, 67, told Reuters news agency.
The Patel Dam fails in Kenya, killing at least 47 and leaving at least 2000 homeless.