In pictures: Flash flooding in western Kenya sweeps away homes and cars, killing at least 45

Flash floods and a landslide swept through houses and cut off a major road in Kenya, killing at least 45 people and leaving dozens missing on Monday, the interior ministry said.

Police official Stephen Kirui initially told The Associated Press that the Old Kijabe Dam, located in the Mai Mahiu area of the Great Rift Valley region that is prone to flash floods, had collapsed, carrying with it mud, rocks and uprooted trees.

But in a statement late Monday the Nakuru County said that the water mass that caused the flash floods was a clogged railway tunnel.

Ongoing rains in Kenya have caused flooding that has killed at least 169 people since mid-March, and the country's Meteorology Department has warned of more rainfall.

The wider East African region is also experiencing flooding due to the heavy rains, and 155 people have reportedly died in Tanzania while more than 200,000 people have been affected in neighbouring Burundi.

More than 200,000 people across Kenya have been hit by the floods, with houses in flood-prone areas submerged and people seeking refuge in schools.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

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