Police authorities in the East African nation say the death toll could potentially rise.
Pictures posted on the X accounts of Kenyan media, Kenya Red Cross and the highway authorities showed scenes of the aftermath of the flooding, with broken trees and at least one car stuck among logs and mud.
Stephen Kirui, a police commander in Naivasha, one of the affected areas, says 42 bodies have been recovered so far, including 17 minors.
The recovery efforts happened after "the early morning incident where a dam burst its banks in Kijabe area" Kirui said, adding “rescue and search operations are going on."
Earlier on Monday, the Kenya Red Cross said it had taken several people to a health facility in Mai Mahiu due to flash flooding.
A senior officer at Nakuru County police headquarters, another affected area said, "45 bodies have been recovered from that dam tragedy as at now.”
As in Naivasha, rescue efforts in Nakuru County continue, the officer said.
Nakuru governor Susan Kihika had earlier put the death toll at 42.
"It's a conservative estimate. There are still more in the mud, we are working on recovery," she told French media outlet, Agence France-Presse.
Rescuers were digging through the debris, using hoes and in some cases just their bare hands in a desperate search for survivors.
Stephen Njihia Njoroge, a local resident involved in the emergency efforts, said 12 people had been pulled to safety since 4:00 am (0100 GMT).
But for many, it was too late, he said.
"We collected some of the bodies held by trees and we don't know how many are under the mud," Njoroge said.
The latest deaths bring the toll from heavy rains and flooding since last month to more than 140.
Excluding the Mai Mahiu incident, government figures show 103 people had been killed and more than 185,000 displaced as of Monday.
The Kenya Red Cross said on X that its personnel had retrieved two bodies after a boat capsized late on Sunday in the Tana River, in eastern Kenya's Garissa County. Twenty-three people were rescued from the same incident.
Dozens more have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced by intense downpours in other East African countries, including Tanzania and Burundi.
The floods have caused widespread damage to infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
A road underpass at the international airport in the capital Nairobi was flooded, but flights were running as usual, Kenya’s Airports Authority said on Sunday.
Hydroelectric dams were at capacity, which could lead to a massive overflow downstream, a government spokesperson said.
East Africa was also hit by record floods during the last rainy season in late 2023. Scientists say climate change is causing more intense and frequent extreme weather events.
Kenya's education ministry on Monday postponed the start of a new school term by one week.
"The devastating effects of the rains in some of the schools is so severe that it will be imprudent to risk the lives of learners and staff," it said in a statement.
Kenya’s Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said the government had directed security and intelligence officials to "inspect all public and private dams and water reservoirs in their jurisdictions within 24 hours... (and) recommend cases (for) compulsory evacuation and temporary resettlement."
He also said on X that the authorities would arrest people engaging in "risky behavior," including motorists attempting dangerous crossings and anyone seeking to transport "passengers across flooded rivers or storm water by unsafe canoes or boats."
His comments came after a boat packed with people capsized at the weekend in flooded Tana River County in the nation’s eastern region, with the Kenya Red Cross saying it had retrieved two bodies and rescued 23 others.
Information for this article was sourced from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Forum