Families count losses as rain continue wreaking havoc

Residents of Ombaka-Kakola village in Nyando constituency, Kisumu County are rescued by a boat from their houses that were submerged by overflow from river Nyando on April 25, 2018. [Denish Ochieng/ Standard]

At least four families have been displaced in Makueni County as the rains continue to wreak havoc.

And there are fears that mudslides could bury more houses located at the foot of a hill in Kilisa village, Kaiti sub-county.

For one family of six, their house was left hanging dangerously on the hillside. When The Standard visited the area, large chunks of soil and rocks were still coming down from the fog-covered hill.

Raphael Kivindo whose family was affected by a mudslide, said they had not experienced such rainfall since 1961.

"We don't have another place to go to and so we are appealing to the Government to intervene," said Mr Kivindo.

Many roads in Eastern region have been rendered impassable and the weatherman has warned that the area will continue to have slightly high amount of rain over the next few days.

George Mbulu, another of those affected by the landslide, is still traumatised.

"I was sleeping at night when rocks hit my house," he said. "But I can’t move because I have nowhere else to go."

Rescue teams

Kilungu OCPD Zacharia Bitok said rescue teams were unable to access some areas because roads had been rendered impassable.

The police boss urged those affected to move to higher grounds.

He said only four homesteads had been affected, refuting earlier claims that 32 houses had been buried in mudslides.

Speaking in Kalungu, Kenya Red Cross Society Regional Programme Co-ordinator John Mbalu said they had sent seven teams to monitor the situation.

Meanwhile, farmers in Gitombani and Mutindwa of Tharaka Nithi County are counting huge losses after their crops were destroyed by a hailstorm on Tuesday night.

The farmers said they had never experienced such an occurrence in their lives.

"We didn't understand what was happening and some of us were very scared. We locked ourselves in our houses but we could not calm down because rock-like substances were hitting our roofs hard," said Samson Kimathi.

 

He said when they woke up the next day, they were shocked to find their coffee, tea, beans and maize plantations destroyed by rain.

And in Nyando, Kisumu County, at least 250 families have been displaced in fresh floods after River Nyando broke its banks in Nandi Hills.

Water spreading

Residents of Ombaka-Kakola yesterday woke up to masses of water spreading into the villages, causing damage.

In Kariwindi South, 170 households were affected, with another 50 in Kanyipola and others in Kasambura-Kamahawa.

Residents said the unexpected floods began on Monday night and the water quickly spread into the villages, marooning residents in their houses.

Some managed to rescue their livestock and household goods using boats.

Susan Oricho, 46, and 10 members of her family sought refuge in the nearby Living River of Life Ministries Church, where 76 other families had sought shelter.

Ms Oricho said the displacement was the second in three weeks and came three days after they had returned to their homes following the first floods, which struck early this month.

Meanwhile, Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) has cautioned motorists and other road users about the state of the Eldoret-Kapsabet-Kisumu highway following floods.

The agency told road users to approach the road with care or to use alternative routes to access Kisumu, Kericho, Kapsabet and Eldoret towns.

King’wal Bridge along the highway has flooded following heavy rains putting motorists using the road at risk.

“We caution motorists and other road users that King’wal Bridge on the Eldoret-Kapsabet-Kisumu highway has flooded, making driving difficult and dangerous,” read the statement.

Thousands of affected motorists who use the busy road daily to and from work in Kapsabet are using new routes through Kimondi to avoid the flooded bridge.

Access Kisumu

Other motorists who use the route to enter Kisumu have had to go through Kakamega.

“It is becoming worse by the day as the rains increase; we are forced to use alternative routes and waste a lot of fuel and time,” said a motorist.

County fire and ambulance facilities camped along the road as stranded motorists braved the raging floods to cross the road.

The KeNHA warning comes just days after Nandi Governor Stephen Sang declared his county a disaster zone following heavy rains that have fallen over the past one month.

The governor reported that some 2,000 families in four wards in Aldai, Tinderet and Mosop had been displaced by mudslides and landslides.

Data collected by Kenya Red Cross Society revealed that 112 households in Uson, Uswet, Kolongei and Kapkanin villages were the worst affected after heavy boulders fell and destroyed homes following landslides.