Tourists stuck at the Maasai Mara wildlife reserve in Kenya when around 200 people are killed by catastrophic flooding.

Buildings at Kenya's well-known Maasai Mara nature reserve are underwater, leaving staff and tourists stuck, while the death toll from the devastating flooding in the southwest of the country has risen to at least 188.

Following the inundation of over a dozen riverfront tourist hotels and camps by River Talek, one of the Mara River's tributaries, which burst its banks, local officials ordered the closure of certain tourism facilities within the National Reserve.  

social media videos showed some of the well-known park's structures and cars completely submerged while visitors hurried to evacuate the impacted sections.  Weeks Sof intense rain and flash flooding have devastated portions of Kenya, resulting in a disastrous mudslide in Mai Mahiu town and left scores of people missing in the Nairobi area.

According to a government official Isaac Mwaura, two more remains were recovered from the mudslide site on Thursday, increasing the total number of deaths there to 50. An error previously claimed 71 dead. Susan Kihika, the governor of Nakuru County

Governor of Narok County Patrick Ole Ntutu said on Wednesday that camp owners in Maasai Mara had been instructed to "transfer to higher land further away from River Talek" after their sites were impacted.The floods left portions of the Maasai Mara National Reserve underwater.

However, the warnings issued by local administration went even further, accusing those who remain of trying suicide and threatening legal action against any who remain.  "Anyone who is still inside any houses or lodges along the river will be forcibly removed." That is deemed an attempt at suicide, thus we will take action against them, Narok County Commissioner Kipkech Lotiatia told reporters.

After receiving distress calls, authorities said they had sent out two helicopters to rescue local employees and visitors who had become stranded around the national reserve. The county stated on X that the flooding was brought on by swelling waterways following three days of nonstop rain.

On Thursday, after one in the morning, the sound of rushing water startled him. Floodwaters reached his waist when he emerged from his tent, encircling the whole Talek Bush Camp.

James Apolloh Omenya, 27, told over the phone, "My driver and I were the first to wake up, so we woke up all the 14 international visitors and 25 workers and climbed ladders to some water tanks that are raised."

"It was pouring rain from around two in the morning until five thirty in the morning, but we were unable to escape and the rescue planes were unable to arrive in time."  More than 90 individuals had been evacuated, according to the Kenya Red Cross, and at least 14 camps around River Talek had been shut down.  Although there had previously been floods in the Mara during Kenya's 'long rains season,' residents claim that this year's downpour is unprecedented in its scope.

In order to "join the multi-agency team for search and rescue efforts following the torrential downpour," the nation has sent "corps from the Paramilitary Academy" of the National Youth Service to Narok, according to a statement on X.

Kenya is part of the Horn of Africa, an area of East Africa that is among the most climate-vulnerable in the world. Burundi and Tanzania have also been impacted by the heavy rains.  The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) CEO, Jagan Chapagain, wrote on X earlier this week, 

"Kenya is facing a worsening flood crisis due to the combined effects of El Niño and the ongoing March-May 2024 long rains." El Niño is a climate pattern that originates in the Pacific Ocean along the equator and affects weather all over the world.

Human Rights Watch researcher for Africa Nyagoah Tut Pur said in a statement on Thursday that "the spreading catastrophe emphasizes the government's need to prepare for and immediately respond to the foreseeable repercussions of climate change and natural disasters." "Kenyan authorities need to protect high-risk people and immediately offer support for affected communities."