Kenya and Tanzania are on high alert as Cyclone Hidaya approaches, following devastating floods that have claimed nearly 400 lives and displaced tens of thousands in East Africa.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall on the eastern coast of Tanzania on Friday, according to the latest weather forecast. It is also anticipated to bring more rain to neighboring Kenya, including the major coastal city of Mombasa, just north of the cyclone’s path.
In Kenya, the Maasai Mara nature reserve has been severely affected, with buildings submerged and staff and visitors stranded. The death toll from the flooding in the country’s southwest has risen to at least 188 people.
Local authorities have ordered the closure of some tourist facilities in the Maasai Mara National Reserve after the Talek River, one of the tributaries of the Mara River, burst its banks. Videos on social media showed buildings and vehicles submerged inside the park as tourists scrambled to leave affected areas.
The flooding in Kenya, caused by weeks of heavy rain and flash flooding, has also led to dozens of people going missing around the capital, Nairobi, and a devastating mudslide in the town of Mai Mahiu.
Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura confirmed that two more bodies were retrieved from the site of the mudslide, bringing the total number of deaths there to 50. The earlier figure of 71 reported was revised due to an error, according to Nakuru County governor Susan Kihika.
In Maasai Mara, camp owners were instructed to leave the affected properties and move to higher ground further away from the River Talek, said Narok county governor Patrick Ole Ntutu. Local administrators warned of legal consequences for those who remained behind, even accusing them of attempting suicide.
Authorities have deployed two helicopters to rescue stranded tourists and local staff around the national reserve after receiving distress calls. The flooding was caused by swollen rivers due to several days of continuous rainfall, the county said.
A tour guide reported being awoken by sounds of rushing water after 1 a.m. on Thursday. When he left his tent, flood waters rose to his waist, and the entire Talek Bush Camp had been surrounded.
