Flash floods kill at least 12 in southeast Kenya

Kajiado, Kenya, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) At least 12 people have been killed by flash floods in Kenya's southeastern region, local police reported on Monday.

Divisional police commander Mohammed Farah said the heavy rains have also caused widespread destruction of property and infrastructure in Kajiado County, where the 12 victims died in the past two days.

The county was flooded after seasonal rivers burst their banks in heavy rains.

"Two women travelling from Isinya along the Pipeline road in a Toyota Corolla saloon car were swept by raging floods near Dawamu School on Saturday at Oltepes area near Kiserian," Farah said.

The two were flashed into a raging seasonal river and their bodies were recovered on Sunday evening trapped in their car.

The 10 others lost their lives while travelling on Sunday night in the same region. The police said the victims include seven girls and two boys.

"We retrieved their bodies and took them to Shalom Hospital in Athi River to await postmortem," he said. The local police boss said they were unable to retrieve the vehicle because of the speed of the water flow.

Several parts of the country have been affected by flooding following an increased heavy downpour.

He appealed to residents and motorists in the area to avoid crossing streams at night because it is not easy to determine the speed of the flowing water.

Authorities have put areas near major rivers on high alert and advised local residents to move to higher ground.