A loud "boom" followed by a "sea of water" moving at an incredible speed. That's all the warning residents had, as a dam burst near a small town in central Kenya. More than 40 people were killed and thousands displaced. But the death toll could be much higher. The country has deployed soldiers to help retrieve bodies from the mud. But search efforts had to be suspended due to heavy rains. CGTN's Vauldi Carelse reports from Nakuru county.

24-year-old Rebeka Kemer was at work when the dam broke. She'd left her four-year-old son James at home with her mother. When she heard the news of the disaster she rushed back, only to find water where her house had been.

REBEKA KEMER SURVIVOR "I went to the mortuary, I found my mom but not my son, there is nothing I can do for now, I can only ask God to help me."

The Red Cross is helping her try to find her boy. But she's holding out little hope he'll be found alive.

REBEKA KEMER SURVIVOR "I may be alive but my mom is gone. My son is gone, I'm not lucky. I feel so sad because this place had grown so much but now we have nothing again. We will never have a good life again. "

Almost 24 hours on from the tragedy, rescuers were still digging in the mud - hunting victims and survivors: the same driving rain that led to this disaster hampering their efforts.

VAULDI CARELSE SOLAI, KENYA "People are still streaming in to try and lend the hand and as you can see the waters here are still flowing. The area we are standing now used to a maize plantation. Residents say there used to crop here now it's just rocks and gullies."

"This place had maize, houses, it was all taken by the water because of the Patel dam. This Patel guy has been building dams without pillars."

"This is a sad story people are really suffering. It's because of the rain that this happened. "

Officials say more than 2000 are homeless, these families will sleep in a school tonight, but after that they'll be given tents. More rain is forecast here-For people like Rebeka Kemer, the worst already has happened. Vauldi Carelse, CGTN, Solai, Kenya.