Tana River County Police Commander Ali Ndiema revealed moments before the 51-passenger bus got marooned at the Lager Areli area in Tana River county on Tuesday.
The bus was travelling from Garissa to Nairobi on Monday at 11:30 pm.
Ndiema said the driver of the bus had reportedly dared to cross the flooded section against the advice of other drivers and passengers only for it to be submerged by the heavy waters 50 metres off the road.
Some of the passengers jumped off the bus unhurt after water got into the vehicle.
The other passengers remained on the roof of the bus awaiting rescue teams.
A team from the military and Kenya Red Cross rushed to rescue the stranded passengers.
"We are hoping to rescue all those trapped. We have experts on the ground and most of the victims have so far been rescued," Ndiema said.
The passengers narrowly escaped death after the bus they were travelling in was overpowered by raging floods at Chuma Mrefu area along the Nairobi-Garissa highway.
The Kenya National Highways Authority had issued a warning to commuters along the Garissa-Nairobi highway (A3) due to flooding in the Mororo area between Madogo and the Tana River Bridge.
According to KeNHA, the flooding has affected one lane of the road, posing a high safety risk to road users.
"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," KeNHA said.
Kenya Red Cross on the other hand has dispatched two boats to rescue the 51 stranded passengers.
Red Cross in a statement through their X handle said the first responders had also been sent to rescue the passengers.
"First responders in collaboration with community members are currently engaged in a challenging rescue operation to save the lives of several people stranded aboard a bus that has been marooned by raging waters at Arer near Tulla village in Tana River County," they said.
Other roads currently being monitored by KeNHA include the Garissa-Mombasa highway at Bilbil and Charidende in Tana River County, which were washed away by the El Niño floods.
The meteorological department has warned that most places will experience heavy rains in the coming months.
This means most places will be flooded and calls for caution.
