Thirteen dead as rains leave behind floods, collapsed infrastructure
At least 13 people have died in Makueni County following heavy rains that have left 222 households displaced, Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwan has said.
Kibwana disclosed that 67 roads have been cut off paralysing transport in various points in the county.
Speaking at Kilungu yesterday accompanied by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and his Devolution counterpart Eugene Wamalwa who visited affected people at Tusukini Primary School in Kaiti, Makueni County, Kibwana said five dams had been washed away and two more are at risk.
Kibwana urged the national government and other well-wishers to partner with Makueni to assist the affected who have lost livelihoods. He said that two bodies are missing and recovery mission is underway.
Matiang’i said at least 150 people have died in the country because of the rains and called on Kenyans to be alert.
“I direct the provincial administration officers to provide security to property of the victims as they move to safer areas,” said Matiang’i.
A15-year-old girl drowned after she fell in a swollen seasonal stream in Ereri village in Segera location, Laikipia county on Tuesday evening. Laikipia County Police Commander Maxwell Nyaema said a search for the girl identified as Sipato Narerio had commenced.
Efforts by her friend to rescue her were futile.
“A search party comprising of villagers and the police is currently scouting the area in a bid to help retrieve the body,” Nyaema said at his Nanyuki office.
In Migori, a 13-year-old pupil drowned while trying to cross a flooded section of River Kuja in West Kabuoch location, in Ndhiwa sub-county as rains continue to cause havoc.
The minor identified as Boaz Odhiambo Ooko, a class seven pupil at Radienya Primary School, lost his life when he was crossing the river using a boat.
The boat had five other occupants during the Tuesday evening incident. They, however, managed to swim to safety on the riverbank.
In Kajiado, the body of a Form Three student who was swept away as she attempted to cross river Olekasasi in Ongata Rongai, has been recovered.
According to Kajiado North sub-county Police Commander Joseph Mwika, the body was recovered in the evening after the water subsided.
So far six people have lost their lives in Kajiado County. Last week five members of the same family perished after a vehicle they were travelling in was swept away as they attempted to cross River Bissil.
Several farmers in Murang’a County are counting losses after their tea farms were destroyed by landslides. In Murarandia Division of Kahuro sub-county, more than 2,000 bushes of tea were swept away.
The 3am incident affected several farms with the bushes being swept to River Muriuriu leaving behind a huge gully. - Reporting: Alvin Mwangi, Noven Owiti, Wangari Njuguna, Robert Ochoro, Henry Andanje
