Nairobi, Kenya — Tourists were evacuated by air from Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve on Wednesday after more than a dozen hotels, lodges and campsites were flooded as heavy rain hit the country.
Tourist accommodation facilities were submerged after a river within the Maasai Mara burst its banks on Wednesday morning. The reserve, in southwestern Kenya, is a popular tourist destination because it features the annual migration of wildebeest from the Serengeti in Tanzania.
The Kenya Red Cross said it had rescued more than 90 people. The Narok county government said it sent two helicopters to carry out evacuations in the sprawling conservation area.
More than 170 people have died across Kenya since mid-March, when the rainy season began, causing floods, landslides and destroying infrastructure. The Department of Metrology has warned that more rain is expected this week.
On Wednesday, three main roads in the capital, Nairobi, were temporarily closed due to flooding. The Kenya Red Cross rescued 11 people from a residential area – Kitengela – on the outskirts of Nairobi, after their homes were flooded overnight.
On Monday, a river broke through a blocked tunnel in the Mai Mahiu area of western Kenya, destroying homes and damaging roads. The incident left 48 dead and more than 80 missing.
Search and rescue operations across the Mai Mahiu area are ongoing. President William Ruto on Tuesday ordered the military to join the search.
Local residents say rescue efforts have been slow due to a lack of equipment to dig through the rubble.
The government has urged people living in flood-prone areas to evacuate or be forcibly evacuated as the water level at two major hydroelectric dams rises to an “all-time high”.
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