I survived a dance with disaster:

Several years ago a local MP’s car somewhere in Yatta in current day Machakos County was swept away by a raging river as he attempted to make his way home one stormy and tempestuous night. All the occupants of the vehicle perished in that unfortunate incident with the mangled wreckage of the car being discovered several kilometers downstream the next morning.

Recently a similar calamity almost befell me and my wife one stormy night as we struggled to get home in Nairobi. Apparently due to a three hour continual and heavy downpour and with the storm water drainage unable to cope with the barrage of rain water and the culverts blocking due to the debris floated by the rains had caused the drainage to burst its banks and the resultant flooding covered the entire road. This has happened many times in the past with the water on the same road barely being 4 inches or so at the worst time that I remember.

Today however it was worse, far worse than I would have imagined. Having committed to crossing that flood that had inundated the road I ventured on into the darkness sure that it could not be more than 6 inches deep and therefore an easy crossing for a 4 wheel drive Subaru Forester vehicle!

I soon realized that the water was getting deeper and deeper with every forward motion of the vehicle. Soon it was almost covering the headlights of the vehicle at least a foot of flood water a bow wave preceding our forward momentum and the lights flickering with what I was sure was an electrical fault though it turned out to be the water lapping at the bottom of the headlights effectively blocking some of its glow. Almost in a panic I thought of all the social media articles on how to react in such a situation and the options available to me which were:

1. Stop and reverse and look for an alternative route home a sure way to stall the engine.
2. Charge the engine and gain speed to exit as quickly as possible another sure way to stall the engine due to the large bow wave and water getting into the engine compartment rapidly or
3. Continue at the same pace and hopefully cross that section of the road without stalling the engine but with a constant prayer on your lips looking to the almighty for his mercies.

I chose the final option and soon we were safely but barely out of the flooded section and home nervously laughing about our narrow escape and possible disastrous consequences.

I learnt several things that day that thankfully the water was partially stagnant and not rapidly flowing ensuring that the current did not float the vehicle and force it to veer off course and into the ditch. The other fear was that the flood waters may have cut of a part of the road which we could not see in the flood and darkness and hence we would be stuck on the road should this be the case.

Would I ever assume for a moment in future about the depth of a flooded section of the road in pitch darkness? I am not sure for now because ones instinct to get home is often so strong that you conveniently ignore any signs that there may be trouble lurking on the way more so when you are so close to your goal as we were that rainy night.

Even more intriguing was the fact that the door seals of the vehicle held firmly and no water seeped into the passenger compartment of the vehicle and importantly there appeared to be no engine damage either given that the engine turned over easily the next morning. That's kudos to Subaru's sturdy and well built vehicles.

By the time I was passing through the same section the next morning, the waters still had not receded and looking at the lake of water it was sobering that we had made it home in one piece and with the vehicles engine intact. I had dodged that bullet and there was there was no way I was going to subject myself to the same stress as the previous night so I used a different route to get to my destination.

With the ongoing rains and the possibility of running into a flooded section of the road here is a link to guide you on what to do in such an emergency.

http://smartdriving.co.uk/Driving/Driving_emergencies/Floods.htm

Be safe and vigilant.