Floods have wreaked havoc in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Narok County, destroying at least 12 lodges and tented camps.
Property worth billions of shillings, including tents, beds, utensils, documents, and personal effects, were swept away after the Talek River broke its banks.
Felix Migoya, a tour driver and chairman of the East Africa Tour Guide and Drivers’ Association, reported to The Standard that some of the affected camps include Mara Leisure, Mara Sweet Acacia, Fig Tree Camp, Oloshaiki, Ilkiliyani, Intrepid, Mara Sopa, Base Camp, Pride Inn-Azure Lodge, River Side, and Crocodile Camp. Migoya added that some tourists on a two-day tour were stranded and might miss their flights back to their countries as the route through the flooded Talek gate is impassable, with only helicopters able to evacuate them.
“Many of the visitors and workers were forced to climb trees last night after the camp was marooned in water after the river burst its banks. Many facilities have been destroyed, others swept away, dining halls were waterlogged, and the water level kept rising,” he stated.
The Talek River burst its banks on Tuesday afternoon due to heavy rains upstream, forcing the evacuation of workers and tourists as water flooded lodges, tents, and camps. Hoteliers estimated the damage to be in billions of shillings as many tents and rooms were swept away.
Narok County Commissioner Kipkoech Lotiati, who visited the park on Wednesday to assess the situation, said that several tourists needed evacuation from the submerged camps and lodges. Lotiati led the county security team in a rescue and recovery operation, utilizing two emergency helicopters provided by Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu and the Kenya Wildlife Service.
The County Commissioner lamented that tourists were stranded as they couldn’t cross the river using the Talek and Simba bridges, which were completely submerged.
