Mto wa Mawe River burst its banks after heavy rains on Thursday, rendering part of Mombasa Road impassable.
The massive water quantity also destroyed the perimeter wall of Green Park Estate and flooded several houses.
"The water is still rising. Our emergency assessment is that the highway will be cut off until tomorrow. The road is now closed," Machakos Governor Alfred Mutua said in a
Facebook post.
Mutua said more than 50 people were rescued from the estate by the county emergency team.
"Majority of them are the elderly, house helps and children from some of the flooded houses. Our teams will be on the
ground
tonight to respond to any situations that arise. Let me repeat, Mombasa Highway is CLOSED."
The Governor
urged those travelling to Machakos and Mombasa to either postpone their trips or use Kangundo-Koma Road to Machakos, then Konza Road to Malili or Machakos road to
Kyumvi.
"We expect more rivers to break their banks so I urge all Kenyans to be careful and not risk crossing areas where water is above a bridge or road."
A house at Green Park Estate covered in flood water on March 15,2018./COURTESY
He also urged those living near river banks to move to higher ground.
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Meanwhile, the Kenya National Highway Authorities also warned drivers against using the same route after Sioni Bridge was over-topped by flood waters.
The bridge is located at the junction of Athi River and Machakos.
"The Kenya National Highways Authority would like to urge motorists and pedestrians to exercise caution and not attempt to cross the bridge or any other road that are overtopped by floods," KENHA head of communication Charles Njogu said in a statement.
Njogu also said that their engineers are on standby monitoring any eventuality that may occur as a result of the ongoing heavy downpour.
The heavy downpour on Thursday has led to several deaths across the country.
In Kitui, five people are missing after heavy rains wreaked havoc in the county.
In Kajiado, at least two people including a class six girl died following the rains.
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