Two drown as rains wreak havoc

Two people drowned on Monday after they were swept away by raging floods in Marigat as heavy rains being experienced in different parts of the country continued to wreak havoc.

A 14-year-old class six pupil at Kiserian Primary School drowned after River ol-Arabel burst its banks. The second victim, 70-year-old Toriapa Lechingei, drowned after he was overcome by River Molo’s strong currents.

Villagers had yet to find the two bodies by Monday evening. Makutano ward councillor Stephen Olekwaro said more than 2,000 people had been displaced in Salabani location after River Endao swelled and bust its banks.

“We fear that there might be an outbreak of waterborne diseases should the rains persist,” the civic leader said.

Mr Olekwaro said the floods had disrupted learning because parents were no longer sending their children to school for fear that they might drown.

He said the heavy rains had also rendered many roads in the area impassable. Marigat district commissioner Geoffrey Taragon asked parents to keep an eye on their school going children to avert more deaths.

In Matungu District, 80 families were left homeless after their homes were destroyed by floods.

Most of those affected are from Ejinja village. Area councillor Fredrick Okubende appealed to the government to help the victims get food and alternative shelter.

In Wajir, flood victims protested against a chief whom they accused of hoarding relief food.

More than 100 households have been marooned by floods following heavy rains in the neighbouring Ethiopian highlands.

And in Oyugis, a school has been closed by the provincial administration because of a mudslide. The pupils of Ranyienya Primary School were transferred to other schools.

Kasipul district officer Johnson Maina Ngunyi said the school would remain closed until the safety of the students is assured.

Reports by John Shilitsa, Wycliff Kipsang, Abdullahi Jamaa, Stella Cherono, and Valentine Obara