Surviving the Mai Mahiu flood: 'I'm lucky I was still awake'

In the dead of night, as rain relentlessly pounded, John Kinuthia was still awake at around 2 am, planning his work for the following day.

Unknown to him, a nearby dam had burst its banks, unleashing a torrent of destruction upon his home and the surrounding buildings.

John is a welder who works just outside his house. He usually isn’t up that late, but his workload was exceptionally much that night.

Perhaps it was luck that kept him awake, saving him from a worse fate.

John lives adjacent to the Mai Mahiu main road. When I arrived at his place, his house stood alone, without a gate or wall. The flood had washed away the wall and gate that once provided privacy.

Although his house was spared from damage which had destroyed the wall, the inside of the house was a disaster.

It was easy to spot his home from a distance, as half of it was marked by brown muddy remnants from the floods.

Despite the disaster inside the house, John considers himself lucky that his house still stood amidst the chaos.

The night of April 29

He recounts that on the night of April 29, while going about his business, he all suddenly saw his wall collapse and water moving towards his direction.

He quickly dashed to the house to wake up his two children shouting "Wake up water is coming, wake up water is coming," in Kikuyu dialect.

He was fortunate to have a double-decker bed where he put his children before he suspended himself on the door as the water levels had submerged half of the house.

He prayed the door would not break or the house collapse following what the floods had done to the outside wall.

John was in a state of panic for almost 30 minutes before the water levels receded.

The children were confused as everything happened so fast and the event was unexpected considering they don't live near any river or dam.

Returning home

After the incident, May 13 was the first time John went back to the house to see what had remained. He took his time as the place was still very wet and any attempt to step on the mud would have you sinking.

The place still had wet cracks where the flash floods had transported soil from other parts, settling in one place, and forcing him to use a long route to reach the house.

Inside his house, half of it is covered in heavy mud with household items destroyed, from beddings to utensils and clothes.

His clothes and those of his children were completely ruined, beyond what even a thorough wash could save.

The children’s uniforms were also destroyed, adding to John’s stress as schools had reopened and he had no means to replace them.

Some of the utensils were swept away and the ones that remained he had to throw them away as they were unusable.

The children are seeking shelter at a friend's house.

Inside the house, apart from the normal items, there were two motorcycles that he used to move around with. They were also covered in mud which he retrieved on Monday.

He was yet to see if they were working, to at least have a starting point.

His work machines were all destroyed leaving him a jobless man.

A smile in distress

John worries that he will have to start afresh—from buying household items, clothes foodstuffs and replacing his work tools.

He had two friends who were helping remove the mud from the house, get rid of the wasted items to at least retain its former state, and see if his children could move back.

Despite the tragedy, John managed to smile, grateful that amidst the floods that claimed lives, he and his family were still living, and his house was still standing.

As of May 7, the death toll for the Mai Mahiu tragedy was 61.