40 confirmed dead after dam collapses in western Kenya, police say

A dam collapsed in western Kenya early Monday, killing at least 40 people after a wall of water swept through houses and cut off a major road, police said.

The Old Kijabe Dam, located in the Mai Mahiu area of the Great Rift Valley region that is prone to flash floods, collapsed and water spilled downstream, police official Stephen Kirui told The Associated Press.

Ongoing rains in Kenya have caused flooding that has already killed nearly 100 people and caused the opening of schools to be postponed.