Kenyan floods leave tourists stranded at iconic Maasai Mara (VIDEOS)

Around 100 tourists were among those stranded in Kenya's Maasai Mara game reserve on Wednesday amid ongoing floods that have devastated the country.

Torrential rains, amplified by the El Nino weather pattern, have battered the East African nation for weeks, claiming more than 170 lives, blocking roads and sweeping away homes. More than 195,000 people have been displaced.

The latest incident occurred when a river broke its banks in the Maasai Mara reserve on Wednesday morning.

Narok County has deployed two helicopters to evacuate trapped tourists/workers/and several people in various camps that have been flooded in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the county government has announced. pic.twitter.com/tyAwApgBYM

— Cyprian, Is Nyakundi (@C_NyaKundiH) May 1, 2024

Local official Stephen Nakola told the AFP news agency that "approximately 100 or more tourists" as well as workers had been marooned by the flooding.

"That is the preliminary number as of now because some of the camps are unaccessible," he added.

More from Narok, Maasai Mara. The most corrupt county which somehow duped @OAG_Kenya to rank them as the best managed through creative accounting.

Not a single investment in water catchment. The road between Sekenani and Talek has never been touched. No drainage too.

These… pic.twitter.com/trgwGRGnu7

— Francis Gaitho (@FGaitho237) May 1, 2024

The Maasai Mara wildlife reserve is a tourist magnet that is home to the so-called "Big Five" — lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards and buffalo.

Rescue operations underway

The Kenya Red Cross said it had rescued 61 people from camps and lodges in the Maasai Mara by land and by air.

"In some camps, tents have been swept away and the Mara bridge, linking the Mara Triangle and the Greater Mara, has been washed away," the Red Cross said on social media.

A search and rescue operation is underway for tourists trapped by floodwaters in over 14 tourist camps in Talek, Narok, after the Talek River broke its banks.

Collaborating with the National and County Government of Narok, the Mara Elephant Project and community members, we have… pic.twitter.com/v8v7O27m6k

— Kenya Red Cross (@KenyaRedCross) May 1, 2024

Search and rescue operations remain ongoing across the country.

On Tuesday, President William Ruto ordered the military to join the disaster response.

Ruto previously referred to Kenyans affected by the flooding as "victims of climate change," after the phenomenon exacerbated already-strong weather patterns.