As rainfall continues across various parts of the country, several passengers travelling from Wajir to Nairobi found themselves at the brute end of the resulting flood waters after a bus they had boarded was trapped over night. This forced them to spend the night in the cold.

According to media reports, the bus was swept by the raging floods at Tula area along the Garissa - Mwingi Road at around 2 am on Tuesday, April 9, 2024.

Responding to the incident, Kenya Red Cross moved swiftly and has since rescued all the passengers onboard the bus.

“All passengers aboard the bus have now been rescued, with priority initially given to women, children, and those who are sick,” Red Cross said in a post on X.

The incident comes after the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) announced the closure of Nairobi - Garissa (A3) Road due to flooding at Arer Area, between Bangaley and Madogo.

In a notice circulated on Tuesday morning, April 9, 2024, KeNHA informed the public that the flooding is as a result of the ongoing heavy rains which occurred on Monday night, April 8 and resulted into rising water levels along the entire stretch.

"The flooding at Arer has compromised the road and diversion that was previously in use. This poses a high safety risk to the road users. 

"This road, therefore, shall remain closed until the flood waters subside and the damaged section is reinstated," the closure notice read in part.

The Authority further revealed that its engineers and other staff are on site ready to deal with the washout immediately the water subsides. 

"We urge road users to be cautious and avoid driving in the floodwater for their safety," KeNHA stated.