The Associated Press and Reuters reported a dam collapsing due to torrential rainfalls in west Kenya resulting in the tragic deaths of 40 people in which the media ultimately blames on (you guessed it) climate change.

However, local media tells a different story, that the so-called dam wasn’t really a one in the first place.

On Monday, April 29, a dam at Old Kijabe burst its banks, sweeping away people and houses at Kamuchiri Village in Mai Mahiu, Nakuru county.

Police update indicates 45 bodies have been recovered as the search for missing persons continues.

One, admittedly unconfirmed source says the so-called dam was really a blockage of a railway tunnel that gave way resulting from water buildup due to heavy rainfall. Even The New York Times says that torrential rains have been occurring in East Africa for weeks in which the areas most affected are: Tanzania, Kenya and Burundi.

Torrential rains in East Africa occur with some regularity and the claim that climate change influences such incidents, according to BBC, are unclear. With all of this in mind, the media seeks to blame climate change rather than the root cause: government corruption.

People in this area of the world live in below poverty conditions with terrible infrastructure that could be used to prevent flooding. Officials in these regions obviously love to preach about doing something but if there’s no immediate benefit or blame is not directly laid at their feet, African leaders have little reason to change.

But at least the mainstream media was able to keep people panicked highlighting the so-called climate crisis in the 6 o’clock news.

UPDATE: Reuters corrected their initial reporting about the so-called dam but not about climate change.

Police initially blamed the flooding on a burst dam, however the ministry of water later said it was caused by a river tunnel under a railway embankment becoming blocked with debris.

“The water (eventually) swept the railway line and started moving downstream with a very high speed and velocity causing destruction of property and loss of lives,” the ministry said. Two local residents confirmed the water ministry’s account.

“While 45 bodies have already been retrieved along the path of the flash floods and the landslide, search, rescue and recovery is ongoing,” interior minister Kithure Kindiki said in a statement.

PHOTO CREDIT: Flooding in Bujumbura, Burundi, December 2019 – By Mpano tete – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=89158201