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Heavy rains claim four lives, leave 389 persons displaced

Wednesday, December 11th, 2019 00:00 | By
Joint requiem for West Pokot flood victims held at the Makutano Stadium in the county. Photo/PD/JIMMY GITAKA

Heavy rainfall continues to wreak havoc in the country after claiming at least four  more lives in Homa Bay and Laikipia counties.

Latest figures indicate three people died while 389 others were displaced in Homa Bay while in Laikipia’s Rumuruti area, a man was swept away by raging floods while crossing River Pesi on Monday morning.

Homa Bay County Commissioner Herman Shambi said the three who died included two children aged 12 and 14 years and a man aged 30.

The deceased died on Sunday in Ndhiwa Sub-County on River Kuja that flows from Migori County into Lake Victoria.

“The victims’ bodies were rediscovered by residents while floating on the river on Sunday evening,” he said.

Apart from deaths, the flooding continues to destroy property, crops and infrastructure across the country.

On Monday, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the ministry has put in place Sh6 billion to cater for the damaged roads.

Macharia said the transport sector is the hardest hit and the money, which is drawn from the fuel levy, should only be used in places where urgent measures are required.

Kenya Meteorological Services Director Stella Aura said yesterday that the rainfall is expected to continue in several parts of the country throughout the week.

“The Rainfall will continue until Sunday. On that day, several parts of the country are expected to receive moderate rainfall,” she said.

The rainfall is expected in the Lake Victoria Basin, Highlands West of the Rift Valley, Central and South Rift Valley regions.

Warnings form the meteorological department came even as Ortum Bridge in West Pokot county connecting Kitale-Lodwar highway was swept away by floods.

Pkomo Sub-County Police Commander Kofa Mohammed said Lodwar- Kapenguria road is now completely cut off.

“The incident happened around midnight, the temporary bridge was constructed three weeks ago for diversion to allow the construction of the main bridge,” he said.

The bridge was repaired temporarily by Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) to allow movement but has been swept. The residents said the burials of landslides victims from Muino area will be affected after the bridge was destroyed.

Residents of Usoma in Kisumu West wade through floodwaters. Photo/PD/ DANIEL OGENDO

In Rachuonyo North, excess water flowing from River Miriu has continued to cause damages in homes in Wang’ Chieng ward.

In Nakuru, potato farmers are staring at heavy losses due to the ongoing heavy rains which have waterlogged the farms.

The flooding has also contributed to the increase of the infamous potato blight disease that affects tuber size. The Chairman of the Nakuru Potato Co-operative Union Josiah Kamau said the worst affected potatoes were the destiny variety, which cannot withstand flooded shambas.

In Nyatike, flooding has displaced over 1,000 families at Nyora, Kabuto, Sere and other areas after river Kuja burst its banks due to the heavy rains.

Roads upgrade

Meanwhile, a day after Tourism Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala queried the use of Sh1 billion to upgrade roads in national parks and reserves heavy rainfall has rendered part of Masai Mara uninhabitable.

The flooding has made game drive difficult. The recurrent floods have also forced some wild animals, especially the big cats, to move from the park to settlement areas, fueling human-wildlife conflict.

Elswhere, US ambassador to Kenya Kyle McCarter has regretted that Baringo county has lost a lot during this rainy season due to lack of adequate dams to harvest water.

McCarter said if the county had enough dams it would have stored plenty of water at the moment when all parts of the county is receiving heavy rains but regretted that the country has lost billions of money through corruption.

He said the US was against any form of graft saying it was the biggest impediment to development of any region, adding dams are a solution to food insecurity.

The US envoy kicked off his two-day tour of development projects in the county by visiting Loboi irrigation scheme in Marigat sub-county accompanied by governor Stanley Kiptis.

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