Nakuru, Narok counties issue warnings on floodsanth

Nakuru and Narok counties have issued warning to residents living in flood prone areas to move to safer ground.

In Nakuru, residents of Mai Mahiu and Moi Ndabi areas have been warned to remain vigilant as heavy rains would cause floods that might result to fault-lines.

Naivasha disaster management committee issued alerts for deadly cracks and flooding across the county on Monday.

The committee said the areas were prone to flooding following the ongoing rains pounding the lakeside town.

As a result, the government has put residents on high alert and activated the disaster management committee even as the rains intensified.

Already one minor has died in Maraigushu after falling into a flooded pan while several farms have been flooded by the rains.

According to Naivasha sub-county commissioner Mathioya Mbogo they were keenly monitoring the ongoing rains and had put mitigation measures in place.

Mbogo said based on past experience, they had placed residents of Moi Ndabi and Mai Mahiu on high alert due to the heavy rains.

“In the past we have recorded flooding in Mai Mahiu and Moi Ndabi areas and we are not taking chances this time round,” he said.

Addressing the press in his office after chairing the committee, Mathioya said that fault lines were a common phenomenon whenever it heavily rained.

“At the moment we have not recorded any ugly incident but we are calling on families near fault lines to move further away for their safety,” he said.

He called on drivers mainly in the rural areas to exercise caution when driving past flooded seasonal rivers warning that the gushing waters were very dangerous.

 Kenya Red Cross Society said that it had also activated its rescue team on the ground and was keenly monitoring the situation.

John Mwikabe the county coordinator said they had over 18,000 volunteers in all the sub-counties who were ready to act in case of any incident.

 In Narok, Governor Samuel Tunai while condoling with his West Pokot counterpart John Lonyangapuo over the loss of lives during last week's mudslides, issued a warning to those living in flash flood-prone areas to move to safety.

The Governor said the county disaster management team was on high alert to respond to any emerging flood incident in the town.

It is however exactly one year after the government spent Sh 600 million to end the flooding menace but the town seems to be still in danger.

On October 29, two boys were swept away by raging floods as they attempted to cross the swollen Oletukat River in Narok East sub-county.

The two are the latest victims of the floods menace which have become a normal and re-occurring phenomenon- sometimes with devastating impacts on human livelihoods and infrastructural development. 

The town which is inhabited by over 60,000 dwellers has continue to suffer from perennial floods flowing downstream for almost a decade now with the deadliest being the April 2015 where 11 people lost their lives and property worth millions destroyed.