Unrelenting downpours continued to wreak havoc at the weekend, leaving a trail of deaths, displacement and destruction of property across the country.
The impact of the ongoing rains has hit hard in parts of the South Rift region after the fury of Mother Nature swept two people in Bomet County.
For the third day, the bodies are yet to be retrieved, despite the devolved units disaster management team deploying divers at Nyangores and Kipsonoi rivers.
Families displaced as floods wreak havoc in Western Kenya Families seek shelter in schools as floods wreak havoc in Nyanza, WesternBomet has witnessed at least 11 people dying as a result of the floods since January, according to statistics from the county disaster management unit.
Combined with the neighbouring counties of Narok and Kericho, at least 17 people have died as the heavy downpour destroyed infrastructure, homes and the death of an unknown number of livestock.
Most of the victims have drowned while attempting to cross local rivers and streams, said Bomet County Disaster Management officer Stanley Mutai as he cautioned residents to exercise caution.
Out of the five who have died in Narok, four members from one family were buried alive in a mudslide at Torokiat village of Ololulnga in Narok South Constituency last Monday.
Mr Felix Kisalu, the Narok South Deputy County Commissioner, named the victims Robert Keter, 35 years old, Faith Keter, 24, Brian Kibet, 5, and Cherotich Keter, 3.
We lost four lives in the mudslide in a disaster-prone area where we have asked the residents to relocate to higher grounds until the rains subside, Mr Kisalu said, adding that areas around Maasai Mau Forest are prone to mudslides.
The administrator said that Ewaso Nyiro and Olashapani rivers in the area are flooded as a result and urged residents of Chepalungu, Torokiat, Pampanim, Oloisusho and Enakishiomi which are prone to floods, to exercise caution and be vigilant during the ongoing rains.
Kenya Power has been struggling to restore electricity lines destroyed in Bomet Central, Sotik, Bomet East, Konoin and Chepalungu sub-counties in Bomet County.
The destruction of the electricity lines has resulted in power blackouts in various estates in urban areas, homes and institutions in rural areas of the South Rift region.
To avert calamities, Kisumu County has launched an appeal to the National Government to help repair broken dykes in Nyando and plans to move victims to evacuation camps.
A multi-agency meeting co-chaired by the Kisumu County Commissioner and Deputy Governor Dr Mathew Ochieng Owili was held on Thursday last week, where partners such as Red Cross, Unicef, Care Kenya and Plan International said they were ready to help the county deal with the flood crisis.
As we speak arrangements are being made to distribute food and non-food items to the affected, said Kisumu County Chief Officer for Communication John Oywa.
We have also sent two excavators to the badly affected areas to open up river banks and water ways to help address the floods, he added.
In Tana River County, at least residents of 11 villages face imminent evacuation as the water levels continue to rise.
They include Samicha, Kokomo, Semikaro, Odhole, Kone Masa, Nduru, Kipao, Onkolde, Oda, Ongonyo and Chara villages.
According to the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS), an estimated 350 acres of land planted with maize and green grams were swept by floods, affecting 150 farmers.
In a situational report on Saturday, KCGS said some villages with farms partly submerged in Tana River County are in Wenje, Kina Komba, Boji, and Bububu.
