The Kenya Red Cross on Saturday evacuated 17 people who had been marooned in their homes by flood waters in Malaa, Machakos county.
In a statement, the humanitarian agency said it responded to a distress call and rescued eight adults and nine minors who had been surrounded by floodwaters.
“The families are currently being hosted by neighbours,” Red Cross said.
Torrential rains that have been pounding various parts of the country have unleashed floods of epic proportions and displaced thousands of families.
Statistics from the Interior Ministry shows that the rains have affected 206,240 people and displaced 41,248 households.
As of Saturday, 219 people had been confirmed dead, nine in the last 24 hours.
The situation could worsen once Cyclone Hidaya makes landfall at the Kenyan coast any time from now.
The Kenya Meteorological Department said Tropical Cyclone Hidaya had already made landfall on the Tanzanian coast.
"Current observations indicate that Tropical Cyclone Hidaya has made landfall on the coast of Tanzania. However, there is another depression developing behind it, which the Department is monitoring closely," Kenya Met said.
It advised residents to stay informed by regularly checking the latest weather forecasts.
Already, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki has banned all beach activities along the Kenyan coast over safety concerns.
he said the cyclone could generate massive precipitation with strong winds and powerful waves capable of significantly disrupting normal activities.
As such, fishing, swimming and non-essential transport within Kenyan waters has been halted with immediate effect.
The CS said the shoreline should remain out of bounds until midnight, Monday, May 6, when Cyclone Hidaya is expected to expire.
"The County Security and Intelligence Committees (CSICs) of Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi and Lamu Counties in collaboration with the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS) are directed to immediately issue notices and to strictly enforce a ban on beach activities," he said in a statement on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the government said it has set up 138 camps in 18 counties to help shelter victims of the ongoing heavy rains.
Kindiki said the camps have been spread across Nairobi (35 camps), Tana River (30), Kisumu (16), Garissa (11), Busia (10), Kiambu (9) and Homa Bay 8.
Migori, Kajiado and Narok have three camps each, Machakos and West Pokot two each, while Kirinyaga, Nakuru, Murang'a, Nyeri, Embu and Turkana have one camp each.
