Two drown due to heavy downpour in Meru
Two people drowned following heavy rains pounding Meru County after a long drought.
Two people drowned and property worth millions of shillings was destroyed by storm water in Meru County following heavy rains pounding the region.
Virano Mungathia, 41, together with another middle aged man were swept away by raging storm water in different incidents in Mangune village in Tigania West and Laare in Igembe North respectively.
Mungathia, a farmer who had spent the early part of the day planting tomato seedlings was going home after buying gumboots in readiness for the rainy season.
He is suspected to have slipped and fallen in a trench and carried by the surface runoff and his body deposited in a seasonal swamp.
Mbeu assistant chief Joshua Karithi said the body had bruises on the forehead.
Police removed the two bodies to Miathene and Nyambene hospital mortuaries respectively for postmortem.
The heavy downpour has left a trail of destruction in Laare and Keeria markets where some houses were flooded, with residents blaming the Meru government for the loss due to poor drainage system.
On Wednesday, heavy flooding caused a huge pile of mud, stones and tree logs at Kagaene market, completely cutting off transport along the busy Meru-Mikinduri road.
Mikinduri parish priest John Mbaabu said the problem was recurrent every rain season and appealed to the government to redesign the road at the section and erect proper drainage system.
“We have experienced this problem for more than six years and it affects many people. We ask the road engineers doing our roads to ensure they apply the necessary expertise to end the problem,” he appealed.
