Floods render villagers homeless
Jacob Owiti | NATION
A man sits with his child on a rock at his flooded homestead minutes before they were evacuated by an emergency team in Rwambwa area of Siaya County on December 05, 2011. Hundreds of homes have been submerged as floods roar downstream.
What you need to know:
- Victims marooned by water were being transported to safer grounds by military
Just when they thought it was all over, it has started again. After four years of lull, raging floods are back to haunt Budalang’i residents. In the past years, theirs had been an annual deluge that had deluded all intervention.
The reinforcement of the dykes was been credited for the temporary relief, but this year, they could not hold any more.
Homes, farm, schools, police stations, places of worship and health clinics are just some of the institutions that have been marooned in Nyanza and Western provinces.
Due to the heavy rains, rivers Kuja, Nyando, Nzoia and Sondu Miriu are over flowing, spilling into homes death and destruction.
Men, women and children who only days are ago were looking forward to a fun filled end year have gloom written all over their faces as they wait for handouts from the government.
In Budalang’i, military officers on Monday took positions, not against an enemy, but to evacuate residents.
Victims marooned by the water were being transported to safer grounds by military lorries. Western PC Samuel Kilele said a helicopter would be required to evacuate trapped victims.
The water level has risen to six metres from 4.5, sub-merging buildings and destroying crops.
The floods are worse in Bunyala Central and Khajula locations which have not been affected in the past. But Makunda area has not been affected because a dyke in the northern part was still intact according to Budalang’ DC Khalif Ali.
However, Makunda residents were not taking chances, arguing that it was just a matter of time before they were trapped.
“The way the water is moving is a clear indicator that we are not safe,” explained Mr Jacob Nasiema, a teacher at Budala Primary.
On Monday, more than 3, 000 people were camping along Rwambwa-Mau Mau road. Children looked tired, having had no meal since morning, with their parents busy carrying the little they could save from their already destroyed houses to the roadside.
In Nyakach, Mrs Mary Okoth, a widow and mother of four said she was staring starvation in the face.
Siaya Red Cross chief James Akello said 70 households had been affected at Rwambwa and Siginga locations in Siaya and Ugenya districts.
In southern Nyanza, deputy commissioner Erastus Ekidor said 130 families had been affected and one hundred more could also suffer.
Additional reporting by Eric Oloo and Maurice Kaluoch
