Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City
Deaths caused by flash flood have because the death of close to twenty Kenyans in the last one week and the heavy rains continued pounding many parts of the country.
The rains has left trail of deaths and inflicted serious damages to the residents of the affected regions where fast flowing waters left thousands of people homeless, swept away food granaries, domestic animals and destroyed homesteads.
The Meteorology Department has issued a stern warning to residents of the flood prune areas saying the worse is still to come as the long rains continued pounding various part of the country.
Reports emerging from the various parts of the country, says several area which are usually prone to floods have already been affected and several village submerged under water. Several major rivers in Nyanza have burst their banks causing floods in several villages downstream.
The worse affected areas include Migori district where River Kuja burst its banks spilling its water into several villages in Central Kadem Location in Nyatike district rendering many people homeless.
Suba South district {Gwassi} experienced the worse flood when several homestead were swept away in Central Gwassi location. Nine people have lost their lives. One of the women who was among those rescued unconscious has since succumbed to her death at Magunga Health Center.
The latest and the worse of all the flood related death is an incident in which 53 member of PCEA Church in Mukara near Nairobi who on Sunday morning set for leisure tour to the Hell Gate National game Park near Naivasha town ended tragically lost seven of their colleagues who were swept away by fast flowing flash flood waters.
Most of the victims were members of a church comprising mainly school pupils and children under age of 15. The rains stated at about 2 P.M in the afternoon and members of the leisure tour group took shelters in the caves around the gorge.
The park is located 100 kilometer southwest of the capital City of Nairobi. Six bodies of the flood victims were retrieved by experts, while the body of the seventh was still missing, feared swept far away from the scene of the accident by fast flowing flash flood waters.
The waters came from deep gullies on Mt Longonot and Kedong Hills areas. The group toured the game park, but when the rain started and despite of written warning printed everywhere at the entrance of the “Hell Gate Game Park” advising visitors to be aware of rising floods the church group took shelters in the caves and were caught unaware by the fast flowing waters from he gullies upstream which swept their colleagues downstream and killed seven of them.
In the greater Southern Nyanza, a family of one man Kennedy Onyango of Nyaburu village in Central Gwassi Location near Magunga lost seven of its members when their dwelling home was swept away. The villages are located an area which is surrounded by hills surrounded by deep gullies, but previously considered safe from floods
Rescuers managed to rescue Mr. Onyango’s two wives and his step mother several kilometers downstream, but they were found to be unconscious and rushed to Magunga health Center for treatment.
One body belonging to one of the children who were swept away an presumed dead was retried about six meters deep below in the mud.
The rescue operation mounted by the Red Cross and experts sent by the government’s Ministry of Special Programme from Nairobi were hampered by the heavy rains which have incessantly continued pounding the areas.
The only available earth moving machine deployed in the search for the bodies of the victims in the muddy water got stuck in the mud.
About 3,000 families lost their homes and were taking shelters in schools and churches located upstream. The rising flood waters also swept away chicken, food, stuff and domesticated animals as well as livestock.
He retrieved bodies of the flood victims were taken to St Camillus Mission Hospital at Sori in the nearby Nyatike district for preservation. Most affected and devastated villages were Wiga,Olando and Nyaburu in Gwassi Central Location.,Suba South within Homa-Bay district.
At the same time close to 5,000 people and close to 1500 have south help and shelter from churches an school when Oluch River that separates Rangwe and Karahuonyo constituencies burst its banks and flooded several villages downstream rendering thousands of residents homeless.
Two members of Parliament whose constituents have suffered a great deal and have become the victims of the flood have raised 38 bag o maize, ten bags of rice and six bags of beans for the flood victim, but this is inadequate considering the high numbers of the flood victims who have been left without food, and even their utensils and kitchen aware swept away.
The MPs are John Mbadi {Gwassi} and Martin Otieno Ogindo {Rangwe}. The victim needs more foodstuff, medicines, anti-mosquito nets to prevent them fro malaria attacks, blankets and tents.
In lower Nyakach close to 100 homes have submerged in the water.400 residents of Gem Rae area were last night camping at the nearby schools and churches. Fears and panicking persist that Budalangi constituency in Busia County which is usually prone to flooding is just days away from being flooded.
Ends