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Police Arrest Dozens Of Protesters At Columbia University; Trump Treated With Jail Time If Gag Order Violated Again; Calls For Resignation Of Columbia University's President. Columbia University Property Cleared; More Than 100 Protesters Arrested at Columbia and City College; Columbia University Asks Police to Stay on Campus Until May 17; Dozens Missing After Flooding Disaster in Mai Mahiu in Kenya; More Rain Forecasted for an Already-deluged Country. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired May 01, 2024 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[02:00:29]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world and everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead. Tensions hit breaking point at Columbia University as police move in and arrest dozens of protesters, including some occupying a main building on campus.

Benjamin Netanyahu doubles down on Rafah saying Israeli troops will invade the city in southern Gaza with or without a hostage deal.

And Donald Trump is fined at his hush money trial for violating a gag order as the judge warns of jail time if he does it again.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. We've been watching dramatic scenes unfold on the campus of one of America's most prestigious universities. And just a few hours ago, New York police confirmed Columbia University has been cleared of pro-Palestinian protesters. Some of them had occupied one of the main buildings on campus. Demonstrators had barricaded themselves inside Hamilton Hall for the better part of a day.

Police entered the building through a second-story window and used what they called distraction devices, including flash bangs, but not tear gas. Now, we are told the doors of Hamilton Hall were barricaded with chairs, tables and vending machines. More than 100 protesters have since been arrested, both at Columbia as well as the nearby city college. Earlier in the day, New York's mayor urged parents of Columbia students to call their children and tell them to leave the area before the situation escalates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D-NY): We cannot and will not allow what should be peaceful -- a peaceful gathering to turn into a violent spectacle that serves no purpose. This must end now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

John Towfighi is a Columbia student and CNN freelancer and joins us now from New York. John, good to see you again. 24 hours ago, of course, you were reporting on this show on pro-Palestinian protesters occupying Hamilton Hall. Now they've been arrested and loaded onto buses. You've been told to remain in your dorm, but are you able to tell us what the scene on campus has been overnight?

JOHN TOWFIGHI, CNN STRINGER: Yes. Thank you for having me back. As you mentioned, I'm currently in my dorm room, which is an undergraduate residence hall located off the campus on 114th Street and the corner of Broadway. I'm directly just across from the campus. And earlier today around 9:00 p.m. when the NYPD came into clear Hamilton Hall, which was occupied, law enforcement asked all students in their dormitories to remain put.

I went downstairs about 30 minutes ago. I was able to go out onto the street. As I walked around, things were quiet, almost eerily quiet. There were pairs of police officers outside the doors to the buildings along 114th Street and NYPD surrounding the perimeter around campus. As a student, I currently do not have swipe access to the main campus and most people are staying in their dorms.

CHURCH: Interesting. And how are students responding to a request from Columbia University for New York police to continue to have a presence on campus until at least May 17th to avoid any new encampments and ensure graduation ceremonies go smoothly?

TOWFIGHI: Of course, speaking to students on the ground, the general sentiment is uncertainty, confusion, and a sense of disrespect from the administration to the students. Of course, the students are quite appalled by University President Minouche Shafik's decision to call on the NYPD on Thursday, April 18th -- initially, Thursday, April 18th and then again tonight. And now this decision to keep the NYPD on campus has students feeling quite confused.

Faculty as well have told me that they have not heard directly from the President about this decision and they are learning about it with the public as it unfolds through official statements. This lack of communication from the president to the community has created a sense of confusion over why the police are staying.

[02:05:02]

CHURCH: Right. And what more are you learning about officials saying that some of these protesters weren't actually Columbia students? What can you tell us about that?

TOWFIGHI: Yes. Of course, so that's been a really contentious issue. The NYPD say that they think about half of the protesters occupying Hamilton Hall were non-affiliates, what they're calling outside agitators. Since the arrests took place and there were nearly a hundred people arrested at Columbia. There has not been an official disclosure of how many students there were and how many outside people there were.

People are going back and forth on this question. Video has circulated on social media of people climbing into windows on Columbia's campus last night when people occupied Hamilton. However, there has been an official university policy restricting access to campus to only Columbia affiliates. So technically any outside agitators would have had to disobey a university policy and sneak by the university sanction public safety.

CHURCH: And John, in the meantime, of course, the main story appears to have been overshadowed by these protests, doesn't it? The Egypt has put forward a new hostage and ceasefire deal that Hamas is currently considering. Has that part of the story been lost in the midst of all of this, do you think?

TOWFIGHI: You know, I think across the past, you know, multiple months at Columbia, since Hamas's abhorrent terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th, the question of bringing back home the hostages and reaching a ceasefire has been a general part of the campus discussion. I would say the majority of Columbia affiliates are deep proponents of a ceasefire and immediate return of hostages.

Of course, the student protests for pro-Palestinian causes across the past two weeks have specifically focused on demands relating to the university's investments tied to Israel and have focused on what they call Israel's assault on the people of Gaza. So, this question of ceasefire has been floating more in the background recently. Yet I would say the majority of the people on campus are still aware of how the politics in the region are developing and are still adamantly hoping for positive developments in the region.

CHURCH: And John, before you go, I did want to ask you. You mentioned that many of the students felt confused and disrespected when administrators there on campus brought in the police. But surely, once these pro-Palestinian protesters had moved into the building, Hamilton Hall and barricaded themselves inside there as trespasses in actual fact. I mean, they were breaking the law. They were yet confused still that police were brought in? I mean, that was ultimately going to happen, wasn't it?

TOWFIGHI: Yes. I think that's a great point. And I think it's very fair to point out that the student protesters dramatically escalated things in the past 24 hours by illegally occupying Hamilton Hall. I think the sense of confusion does not come from the imposition of law and order because students, of course, want to have a normal final exam period and graduate. The sense of confusion more so comes from the university's fraught relationship with the NYPD.

In 1968, in fact, this was the 56th anniversary of the NYPD raid in 1968 on anti-war protesters that had occupied Hamilton Hall. There was a sense of uncertainty as to why the university wasn't being clear about their communication with the police department. Faculty and students felt if the NYPD was going to be called in, they would have liked advanced notice. This notice was not received, creating a sense of confusion. So, while people are happy that the university made a decision to quell this illegal occupation of the Hamilton Hall. The relationship historically between Columbia and the NYPD means it's a more of a murky conversation and people have different feelings on the subject.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to John Towfighi reporting there from his dorm near campus. Appreciate it.

Well, CNN Presidential Historian Tim Naftali is a professor at Columbia University. He reacted earlier to what he saw happening on the campus Tuesday night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: I'm terribly concerned and I'm pretty, I'm very sad. I understand why the university saw the takeover of Hamilton Hall as an escalation. I look forward to learning why they decided to move now. The building was taken over earlier today. Let's make clear to everybody. Freedom of speech does not include vandalism. It does not protect you if you take a building or occupy a building.

So, this is not what the students engaged in. The demonstrators was not the exercise of their First Amendment rights today.

[02:10:00]

They escalated the situation. My concern, however, is that when you bring the police in, there are unintended consequences. I'm sure. And I worry about students getting hurt, not deliberately by the police, but things can happen. And it's very difficult to control a situation like this. But I worry about the health of my students. And I worry about the health of students who have made mistakes.

I am saddened -- was saddened by the escalation that the student demonstrators engaged in today. It really was unjustified. Regardless of the moral outrage one should have about the effect on civilians in Gaza, that is not a justification for engaging in violent acts here in New York City. So, what has happened today is terribly worrying. And what we're watching now, because of the unexpected and the role of accident, could turn out very badly. So, I worry about the health and safety of the students and of the police too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The chaos is also gripping other college campuses across the U.S. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill says the last day of classes were cancelled on Tuesday as pro-Palestinian protests continued on campus. The University of South Florida, the police, appeared to use tear gas to break up demonstrations. A CNN affiliate reported that police took several people into custody and scenes were similar at California's Cal Poly Humboldt campus, where police in riot gear removed protesters who had been camping there for more than a week. The police say more than two dozen people were also arrested.

The top U.S. diplomat is in Israel pressing hard for a hostage and ceasefire deal with Hamas to come together within the next few days. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is meeting with Israeli officials, including President Isaac Herzog. Blinken says Israel has shown its willingness to compromise now it's on Hamas, saying "no more delays, no more excuses."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: Even as we're working with the reluctance determination to get the ceasefire that brings the hostages home, we also have to be focused on people in Gaza who are suffering in this crossfire of the month of the making. And so, focus on getting them the assistance they need, the food, the medicine, the water, the shelter is also very much on our minds and the work that we do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: But deal or no deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is holding firm on plans to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Here's what he said, drawing a mission with hostage families in Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): We will enter Rafah because we have no other choice. We will destroy the Hamas battalions there. We will complete all the objectives of the war, including the return of all our hostages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The Israeli military says its commanders have approved plans for upcoming missions, but officials from the Biden administration tell CNN they don't believe an offensive is imminent. Once again, citing the lack of a detailed Israeli plan to protect the more than one million civilians sheltering in the city.

Meanwhile, the U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres is urging both sides to agree to a ceasefire and hostage deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: For the sake of the people of Gaza, for the sake of the hostages and their families in Israel and for the sake of the region and the wider world, I strongly encourage the government of Israel and Hamas leadership to reach now an agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: More now from CNN's Jeremy Diamond reporting from Jerusalem.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Israeli officials are awaiting Hamas' response to the latest ceasefire and hostage deal proposal. But as they are doing that, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is vowing that Israeli forces will enter Rafah one way or the other. He says with or without a deal, Israeli forces will enter Rafah and eliminate the Hamas battalions there.

Now, he as the Israeli Prime Minister, his words should certainly be taken with the seriousness that they require, but they should also be taken with a grain of salt and viewed through the lens in which they were delivered. And that is certainly a political lens, one that is -- words that are intended for a domestic political audience as the Israeli Prime Minister tries to ensure that his right flank in his current government sticks with him.

But there's no question that this is bluster in part. And that's because in speaking privately with Israeli officials, it's very clear that a hostage deal would indeed prevent or at least delay a significant Israeli ground operation in Rafah. If there is a hostage deal, that means that there will be a ceasefire on the ground. And that means that Israeli forces will not for at least some time enter Rafah.

And there's no question that the possibility of that Rafah offensive is weighing very heavily on these negotiations. Weighing very heavily on this latest Egyptian framework, which could see some 20 to 33 Israeli hostages released over several weeks. Weeks of pause in the fighting and potentially even a longer-term ceasefire for at least one year. But now the question is, what will Hamas' response be?

Hamas' leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar has received this proposal over the course of the last few days and he's been reviewing it and his response could come as early as today, perhaps tomorrow. But there's no question that that response will be critical to determining whether or not a hostage deal, a ceasefire will be possible in the coming weeks or whether instead Israeli forces will begin evacuating civilians from Rafah and then moving troops in.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Jerusalem.

CHURCH: Still ahead, a New York judge penalizes Donald Trump after finding he violated the gag order in his criminal hush money trial multiple times. Details of his warning for the embattled Republican front runner just ahead.

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[02:18:25]

CHURCH: An update on our top story, New York Police have arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters who were occupying a main building on the campus of Columbia University. The protesters took over Hamilton Hall late Monday and barricaded themselves inside with chairs, tables and vending machines. Supporters formed a human chain around the building to try to keep police out.

The school has asked police to stay on campus until at least May 17th to ensure demonstrators don't re-establish their encampments.

The New York judge overseeing Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial warned the former U.S. president. He could face jail time if he continues to violate the gag order in the case. Judge Juan Merchan handed down a $9,000 fine for nine violations, the maximum allowed by law. Trump later criticized the punishment after court and called the gag order unconstitutional. He likely faces more fines for other gag order violations when the trial resumes on Thursday.

CNN's Paula Reid has more now from New York.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jurors in the hush money case against former president Trump heard from a lawyer who represented two women who allegedly had affairs with him while he was married. Keith Davidson represented both Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels. He explained to the jury how he sought deals with the national enquirer for both of his clients.

[02:20:01]

He told the jury how the release of the Trump Access Hollywood tape suddenly drove up interest in Daniel's story.

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet.

REID: Just a history of it's like a magnet. The jury was shown text that Davidson sent to former national enquirer editor Dylan Howard about both Daniels and McDougal. Of McDougal, Davidson texted, I have a blockbuster Trump story. Howard responded, talk first thing, I will get you more than anyone for it. You know why.

Davidson and McDougal were in conversation with ABC News about sharing her story he testified, but McDougal did not want to tell her story and prefer the deal with the National Enquirer which would have kept her story from the public. At one point, while Davidson and Howard were negotiating, Davidson wrote, throw in an ambassadorship for me. I'm thinking, I'll have man?

He said that text was a joke about Trump's presidential run that somehow if Karen did this deal for AMI, the publisher of the National Enquirer, that it would help Donald Trump's candidacy. Davidson said he received a hefty 45 percent of McDougal's $150,000 deal. Earlier in the day, prosecutors questioned other witnesses like Michael Cohen's former banker Gary Farro who provided details about a different hush money payment that was made to Stormy Daniels by Michael Cohen.

Trump was seen leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed several times during Farro's testimony. Prosecutors also briefly called the executive director of C-Span's Archives to the stand. His testimony was used to enter videos of Trump into evidence.

TRUMP: As you have seen, right now I am being viciously attacked with lies and smears. It's a phony deal. I have no idea who these women are.

REID: And before all the day's testimony began, Judge Juan Merchan ruled Trump must pay $9,000 for violating the gag order put in place at the start of the trial. The judge ruled Trump violated the gag order nine times and charged him $1,000 per violation and ordered him to take down the offending post by the afternoon, which Trump did. The judge raised the possibility of jail time if Trump continues to violate the gag order, stating, therefore, defended is hereby warned that the court will not tolerate continued willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: Trump's comments after a court appeared to be within the bounds of his gag order, but when court resumes on Thursday, the day will start with another hearing on four additional instances where prosecutors say Trump violated the gag order. Now, of course, these were all before Trump was found to have violated the gag order and find that $9,000. It's unclear what the judge will do this time if he finds these violations are also valid.

Paula Reid, CNN, New York.

CHURCH: At least three people have been killed and three others wounded in Odesa, Ukraine, after a Russian ballistic missile attack early this morning. Ukrainian officials say civilian infrastructure was damaged as well. This happened just days after a suspected Russian cluster bomb killed five people and wounded 30, including children in the port city. Ukraine's prosecutor general released footage of that attack showing dozens of small bombs exploding within seconds of each other.

The attack also damaged a building that locals call, the Harry Potter Castle. The production transfer and use of cluster munitions are banned by an international treaty. However, neither Russia, Ukraine, nor the U.S. have signed the convention.

Police in Tbilisi are cracking down on protests over Georgia's controversial foreign agents' bill. According to Reuters, officers fired tear gas into the crowd as demonstrators marched on Parliament. Georgia's main opposition party tells Reuters its chairman was badly beaten during the protest. The bill, which is expected to be approved by lawmakers, requires groups that get more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents.

Critics are calling it the Russian law comparing it to similar legislation in Moscow that has been used to crack down on dissent.

Much more to come on our top story this hour. The end of the pro- Palestinian protests at Columbia University after police moved in just hours ago. We will have a closer look at how the operation went down.

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[02:27:47]

CHURCH: More now on our top story. New York Police have cleared pro- Palestinian protesters from the campus of Columbia University, arresting more than 100 people both at the school as well as at the nearby city college. Police face loud jeers as they approach campus to remove protesters who had barricaded themselves inside one of Columbia's main buildings, Hamilton Hall.

And you can see on the right side of this map where police entered the campus and where Hamilton Hall is located not far away. Authorities say the occupation of the building was led by individuals not affiliated with the university. Police have been asked to remain on campus for the next 2-1/2 weeks to make sure protesters don't rebuild their encampments with graduation ceremonies set for mid-May.

And CNN was on the scene as the police operation unfolded and here are some of the most compelling moments as they played out on our air.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police are now going in. They are now going in to the Columbia campus on -- I can see them going in the campus on the 114th Street side. We are right with them right now. They are moving in. They are walking. These are the search teams that we were with earlier. They are now making their way towards the campus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hurry up. Let's go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. We're moving. We're moving. We're moving.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just pushing people out and (INAUDIBLE) all the media and the protesters and that human chain. I hear the boos and the (INAUDIBLE) I see them up there, clean up there, behind the Palestinian flag there is someone there that's absorbing everything that is going in. That's where -- there they are. They are. Up there.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: A rather large armored vehicle that has a crane-like arm that has brought them up to that window and now it looks like they are gaining entrance into that window.

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Yes. So that's a bear cat. Normally that's a bulletproof rescue vehicle that they use when people are pinned down by gunfire, not the purpose here.

[02:30:08]

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We are seeing people arrested coming out down the streets, coming down another -- there's another entrance down 114 and they're starting to bring people out of the Columbia grounds. If you look at these buses, you can see the number of people inside the buses there, many of them with Columbia sweaters, a lot of them wearing keffiyehs. I see at least -- watch your step, watch your step -- I see at least a dozen people in that bus. This bus has lots of police officers who are with arrestees on this bus. It must be in the dozens at this point and here are more people who are coming out of Columbia right now.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: It's just stunning pictures to think that this is a university, Columbia University, that the police are entering in such a way because the doors were barricaded. The group broke in the morning and has been there all day. They unfurled flags here or signs here. Today, there were up on the roof at one point. So, the NYPD really spent the day planning for this and then surged, I mean, hundreds, if not at least a thousand officers here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Steve Moore is a retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and CNN Law Enforcement Contributor. He joins us now. Appreciate you being with us.

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Thanks for having me, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, we all watched police moving to arrest pro-Palestinian protesters who had occupied Hamilton Hall, an academic building on Columbia University's campus. How would you assess the way they carried out their duties?

MOORE: It was impressive. It was surprisingly smooth. Some of the things that I saw that really I think led to this outcome as the fact that they had overwhelming force. And when you hear the term overwhelming force, you think violence, but it is actually the other way around. When you have a large surplus of officers, essentially going in to clear location, people tend not to resist as much when they're out numbered.

Studies have shown that the more superior your numbers are, the less the people who you are coming to remove will be injured. So, the fact that they were able to get that many officers that quickly to handle this was very impressive. Of course, the speed of the -- and the planning of the operation were impressive also.

CHURCH: Yeah, it went a lot faster than a lot of people were thinking because some people suggested this was going to take all night. It certainly did not. So, we have learned that Columbia University is now requesting that the New York Police Department maintain order on campus until at least May 17 to ensure graduation ceremonies run smoothly, and that new encampments of protests are not re-established. What's your reaction to that request?

MOORE: Well, I think it is a wise request because as we are learning now and it is not a surprise to me being in the FBI, there are outside agitators who are actually involved with these students. A number of them were arrested earlier at least were part of groups that have been occupying areas. And so, what they believe, what the Columbia University regents (ph) and dean believe is that they are not going to go away. They're not going to see this as well. They threw us out of the hall and they took away our lawn, so we are leaving, we are going home. No, no, no.

They will look for the next vulnerable spot and I expect them to be back, but probably not in the places that they want to occupy the most.

CHURCH: Right. And of course, it has to be said, I mean, everyone has a right to protest but we have been watching pro-Palestinian protests being held across the country in about 16 different states with dueling protests and violent scuffles at UCLA, and some arrests at various campuses, but nothing that escalated to this level with the barricading of students or activists within a building.

Why did everything get out of hand at Columbia University and not on other campuses?

MOORE: Well, because I think this was coordinated nationally and Columbia seem to be the location that was catching the public and the press' eye. So, it had to be the place where the stand was made. It had to be the Alamo. It had to be the one where the big protest was because that's where the press was. So, I expect to make their stand at Columbia and you're absolutely right.

[02:35:00]

MOORE: The beauty of America is that we can say things, we can protest. We can do this publicly even when it is offensive language. But you can't trespass and keep people from being able to go to class and going to their graduations. We draw a line between that and civil control. But I think what we saw here was the fact that there was a coordinated effort nationwide. It wasn't a coincidence that everybody seemed to be camping on the lawns where the graduations were going to take place.

But Columbia was the touch point. Columbia was where it started and Columbia, I think, is where it is going to have to end.

CHURCH: And dozens of protesters have been arrested at Columbia University. So, what all has been learned from this, for that campus and for all the other campuses, because it is probably not the end of this round of protests?

MOORE: No, no, it certainly isn't and I think we'll know what they learned when we find out what the punishment is. There is freedom of speech. But if you are occupying a campus building and doing damage to it, burglarizing it, there's going to be potential educational problems because you are a guest at that university. You do not own the university and you could lose scholarships. You could lose your right to be there.

So, Columbia is not going to take the disciplinary hearings lightly and there will be serious hearings on this. And whether they push for suspension or expulsion depending on the acts is going to tell a lot about how they want to go forward with this, how they want the next round of protests. So it is not just this subject even, it could be around of anti-nuclear protesters the next time. And so, they have to draw a line in the sand and do they want to draw a big line or a small line?

CHURCH: Steve Moore, appreciate you joining us, thank you.

MOORE: Thank you.

CHURCH: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: The heavy rains that caused massive deadly flooding across Kenya are not over yet. Meteorologists say parts of the country experienced half a year's worth of rainfall in April alone and more is coming in the next week, compounding the misery of tens of thousands of people who have been displaced from their homes. CNN's Larry Madowo reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After weeks of heavy rains and flash floods, devastation is everywhere in this part of Kenya. Homes swept away, vehicles overturned, trees uprooted.

[02:40:00]

MADOWO (voice-over): Here in the town of Mai Mahiu near the capital Nairobi, birds still sing eerily in the few trees that remain. But on the ground, death and destruction are everywhere. Dozens were killed after floodwaters blew through a tunnel under a railway bridge, according to locals and first responders in Mai Mahiu. Rescuers are clearing debris as they try to recover bodies and reach survivors.

MADOWO: They're trying to clear the heap back there because they believe somebody could still be buried under there. These are remnants of a house. It is a tree that was uprooted and all of that because, across the road from here, after they heard a phone vibrating, they were able to pull out the body of a man after hours of digging.

MADOWO (voice-over): Dozens are still missing after the flash floods here.

JULIA WANJIKU, LOST HER 3-YEAR-OLD SON (through translator): We still don't know where our son is. That night was his third birthday. I put him too bad well, and covered him. I didn't know I was saying goodbye.

MADOWO (voice-over): Thousands have been told to seek higher ground or have been evacuated to government-run facilities, like Githukuri Makau, who lost everything he owned.

GITHUKURI MAKAU, FLOOD SURVIVOR (through translator): I had a full house of clothes, but I have nothing now, not even a mattress. It is totally plain, you can't tell there was a house there. I'm now left destitute. There's nowhere to go.

MADOWO (voice-over): While flooding is not uncommon during the country's wet season, experts say the El Nino weather phenomenon and climate change exacerbated this year's rainfall.

WILLIAM RUTO, KENYAN PRESIDENT: It is a realization that while we had a drought a year ago, today, we have floods. A year ago, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique were having floods. Today, they are having drought. That is the reality. That is the new normal.

MADOWO (voice-over): The U.N. Resident Representative in Kenya has said the country is facing a climate emergency that it did not cause, drought and floods. Relentless rain has also impacted Burundi and Tanzania, where at least 155 people have been killed by flooding. Meanwhile, rainfall is expected to continue in several parts of Kenya for the next six days, the floods in many areas showing no signs of letting up.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Mai Mahiu, Kenya.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. And then, I will be back in 15 minutes with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stick around.

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(WORLD SPORT)