Rains leave trail of destruction

• Supermarket says it could have lost Sh100 million in storm aftermath

Traders in Kisumu are counting their losses due to the fury of the heavy rains that are pounding western Kenya.

The Nakumatt City supermarket, which is located along the Nairobi-Kisumu road, was among the worst affected, with losses estimated at over Sh100 million.

The rains that began with a drizzle on Sunday evening, increased to a storm that brought down walls, houses, and street lights.

Mr Dickson Oruko, the supermarket’s deputy manager, said fast moving rain water brought down a wall and seeped into the supermarket.

Shoppers were caught by surprise and supermarket attendants moved up and down the aisles transferring goods to the upper floor.

Among the damaged goods were electronics, clothes, and flour.

Staff spent the better part of the night trying to scoop out the water that covered the ground floor to knee level.

Mr Oruko said the wall that fell smashed several bicycles and motorcycles that had been parked outside the store.

Goods submerged

Waste from a nearby dumping site and tree branches were also washed into the supermarket.

Elsewhere in the town, kiosk owners woke up to a rude shock yesterday morning to find their goods submerged while others found their structures washed away after the heavy rains that pounded the town most of the night.

Mrs Magret Anyango, a restaurant manager along Oginga Odinga Street, said she found her establishment flooded and the chairs floating on the water.
Most business people blamed the flooding on the town’s poor drainage system.

“Measures should be taken to ensure that the drainage system, especially the main one that sends water collected in the town to Lake Victoria, is properly done and the foot paths also raised,” said Mrs Anyango.