Floods displace 1,500 more in Kisumu

Floods on Monday displaced 1,500 more people in Kasese village in Muhoroni, Kisumu County.

This came just a day after the floods displaced 80 families in Achuodho village on Sunday.

The raging floods killed three people in Bondo, Siaya County, on Saturday morning.

The overflow following a heavy downpour has also swept away crops and livestock. Roads have been rendered impassable.

Residents have been forced to leave their homes for higher grounds.

Some of the families have moved to churches and schools while others are living in camps the Kenya Red Cross Society has set up.

HEAVY RAINS

Red Cross Nyanza Regional Manager Emmanuel Owako told the Nation affected families are provided with food and blankets even as heavy rains continue to pound the area.

“We are also advising the people to move to safer places until the heavy rains subside. Meanwhile, we shall continue offering food, medicines, blankets, mosquito nets and jerry cans for storing clean drinking water,” said Mr Owako on Monday.

Learning has been paralysed as most schools are either flooded or have been turned into camps.

Ms Mollyne Atieno said she was woken up in the middle of the night by her children after their bedding got soaked.

“My two children sleep on the floor in the sitting room. Around 3 am, I heard the firstborn scream. I woke up and the whole house was flooded. I grabbed them and put them on my bed, then called for help,” she said.

Even cooking is a problem for Ms Atieno because mud has flowed into her house. She has to place the stove on top of the table to cook.

Ms Atieno, who lives in Sidho Buba, laments that floods have become the norm every year.

“We have held countless meetings with local leaders over this problem but there seems to be no headway. We are suffering a lot. It is not fair that people have to be displaced every year and property destroyed,” she says.

Another victim, Mrs Martha Adhiambo, said she found utensils floating on flood water when she woke up.

“It has been very hard to move because the mud is very sticky,” said Mrs Odhiambo, who is camping at Kachuodho Primary School since Thursday.

Her neighbour, Ms Sylpher Juma lamented that the relief food is not enough. “I don’t know where my next meal will come from. Everyone is now fighting to survive and things are very tough here.

“My house is completely flooded. I have no food and literally no place to lay my head. I wonder when this nightmare will end,” she laments.

“The floods have caused me many losses. I have lost three cows and 10 chicken. They were my only source of income,” said Ms Grace Anyango Onyango.

Mr Owako said the communities are also being taught on how to manage floods. “We are not just looking at the lowlands but to the entire region. Events in Bondo where we lost lives put us on alert. We call upon the community to ensure good drainage systems to check floods in future,” said Mr Owako.