2 people swept away by floods as predicted El Nino comes to pass

A nine-year-old girl was among two people swept away by floods in separate incidents in Gwassi.

The girl was on her way home from school near Kinda Beach in Gwassi Central when disaster struck.

Kiabuya Sub Location Assistant Chief Winnie Boit confirmed that Bevaline Amondi lost her life when a mortobike she had boarded was swept away by flood water.

Ms Boit said the Standard Two pupil had boarded the motorcycle with her 12-year-old brother and her 14-year-old sister who were also from the school.

The motorcyclist and the other two pupils were admitted to St Camillus Hospital in Sori town with serious injuries. The girl's body was taken to the St Camillus Hospital mortuary.

In the second incident, a 50-year-old woman was swept away by flood water in Tonga village, Gwassi West location in Suba sub-county. Caren Achieng' met her death while walking home.

County Police Commander John Omusanga confirmed the incident saying Ms Achieng's body was swept into Lake Victoria.

retrieve body

"The lady died when she was trying to cross the flooded area to her home before being overpowered by flash floods. There was a heavy downpour that lasted for more than six hours," Mr Omusanga said.

Omusanga said the body of the woman had disappeared into Lake Victoria and operations were ongoing to retrieve it.

"As we are speaking, a number of the family members and friends are looking for the body," he said.

Omusanga said five cows and three goats were also killed in the floods.

"Residents should be vigilant when crossing rivers to avoid loss of lives and destruction of property. They should not assume that the rivers are normal whenever they find them overflowing," he said.

The Magunga–Nyandiwa road in Suba sub-county remained impassable after heavy rains in the area on Monday.

Omusanga said heavy rains in Rachuonyo North, Ndhiwa and Suba sub-counties have impeded transportation of the ongoing nationwide Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations to various schools.

The County Director of Education Stephen Barongo said schools in Lambwe, Mbita sub-county were hardest hit.

Mr Barongo said the students in many schools in the area had to wait for between 40 minutes to one hour before starting their exams after roads became impassable.

"The rains, which pounded this area last night, have caused a great challenge, which has made it impossible for us to access a number of schools with vehicles. I am appealing to candidates and parents to keep calm," he said.

Barongo said they had to use mortobikes instead of cars.

"In some schools, the examinations officers had to trek because even motorbikes could not access them," Barongo said.

The director said security was intensified to ensure safety of the exam papers.

"I am assuring candidates that the exams are safe from any form of leakage hence they should also desist from cheating," Barongo said.

Parts of Kisii town were rendered inaccessible in the aftermath of the rains. Several women at the Daraja Mbili open air market lost goods worth millions of shillings in the afternoon downpour that saw a car swept off the road.

Rivers Riyabe and Nyakomisaro burst their banks. The bridge along the Kisii-Nyamira, Kisii-Keroka and Kisii-Migori roads was impassable, forcing motorists to wait for almost three hours for the water to subside.