BY ERIC WAINAINA

Lari,Kenya:Area leaders say mudslides could recur as heavy rains continue to pound most parts of the district

Lari MP Mburu Kahangara and the area District Commissioner Mr Bernard Kinyua have urged families living in areas prone to landslides and floods to move to higher ground.

This will help them  avert more tragedies. The caution follows a weekend tragedy at Magina Village, where three children from the same family died. This was after their family house was buried by landslide after a heavy downpour.

Mburu said there were  high chances of more landslides if heavy rains continue. The landslide occurred during the night as the family was asleep. Their father was only able to save one of the four children.

“The situation is not good with the ongoing rains.  We are pleading with families living in flood-prone areas as well as mudslides to relocate to higher ground or seek shelter elsewhere to avert deaths,” Mburu said. The MP promised to lobby for relocation of the families by the Government.

Mburu said the land located on a steep terrain was given to them by the defunct Kiambu County Council.

“We will fight to have the families relocated to safer ground, but this is not something that will happen immediately,” Mburu said.

He observed that the constituency previously experienced landslides though not tragic.

Kinyua said their assessment had established that about 20 homesteads at Magina Village were located in danger zones.

Infrastructural damage

He said the rains swept away a sections of the railway line near Kijabe Mission Hospital and other landslides were reported in the upper Lari District, destroying most of the roads.

“We have a number from incidents caused by the heavy downpour where three people were killed at Magina, and one injured at Gitithia after his house was buried by a landslide. Other minor landslides have also been reported in other areas,” he said.

Thika and Juja areas have also been affected by floods caused by the heavy rains, that have continued to cause havoc in most parts of the country.

According to the Kenya Red Cross, over 10,000 families have been affected by floods in Central region following heavy rains pounding the area, with Murang’a County being the hardest hit.