The short rains have turned destructive in parts of the country, with a girl swept away by floodwaters in Kajiado South and a three-hour hailstorm leaving a trail of destruction across tea farms in Kericho County.

Search in Kajiado

The Kenya Red Cross said one person was swept away while trying to cross a swollen river at Baraka, Olkaria Village, in Kajiado South on the night of Friday, October 30. Its teams launched a search and rescue operation on Saturday, according to Capital FM, The Star and People Daily.

Citizen Digital reported that the victim was a young girl who was walking home with her brother when the floodwaters overwhelmed them. The boy survived. The station said her body was found on Saturday about 24 kilometres from where she was carried away. The Red Cross had not publicly confirmed the recovery by Saturday evening.

The humanitarian agency urged residents to avoid crossing flooded rivers and roads and to call its toll-free line, 1199, in an emergency.

Hail turns Bureti white

In Kericho, residents of Bureti Sub-County said hailstones fell for about three hours on Friday, covering the green tea fields in a thick white layer. Areas hit include Chelilis, Getarwet, Bargero and Kaminjewet, according to People Daily, while Citizen Digital spoke to residents of Chemosot Ward.

Farmers said the storm destroyed:

  • Tea bushes, the main source of income in the area
  • Newly planted avocado seedlings and other crops
  • Poultry and some dogs, while cattle left outside were battered by the ice
  • Several houses in Barkiro

"We have had a disaster, heavy hailstone rain that has destroyed all our property," Chemosot resident Abraham Kirui told Citizen TV. Another resident, Purity Kirui, said no government disaster management officials had visited the area by Saturday. Farmers want the county disaster department and the agriculture ministry to assess the losses and support affected families.

More rain ahead

The Kenya Meteorological Department says rainfall will continue at varying intensity, with the short rains expected to peak in mid-November. Elsewhere, floods in Tana River displaced more than 300 households this week, and the government says it has started emergency drainage works around Lakes Baringo and Bogoria, whose rising waters have narrowed the gap between the two lakes to about seven kilometres.

Residents in flood-prone areas have been urged to move to higher ground, keep children away from swollen rivers and avoid driving through flooded roads.

Photos: Capital FM / Kenya Red Cross; Citizen Digital. Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.