Trail of death and destruction as heavy rains pound country

The flood situation in Sindo town in Homa Bay County on April 28, 2024. [James Omoro, Standard]

At least nine people have died following heavy rains pounding many parts of the country.

Three bodies were retrieved in a flooded area of Kona Punda along the Garissa-Madogo Highway as the search for the 21 missing persons entered its second day on Monday.

Those missing are among the 41 passengers who were swept away by raging waters after a boat carrying them capsized on Sunday evening.

At least twenty-two passengers were rescued.

The accidents, captured in videos that have since gone viral, occurred some minutes before 7pm making it difficult for the rescue team to trace the victims because it was dark.

Yesterday, Kenya Red Cross Coast Regional Manager Musa Hassan said a schoolgirl was among the three people whose bodies were found floating on the water.

The body was handed over to the family for burial in line with Islamic customs. Hassan said the second body was floating a few meters from the scene at Kona Punda along Garissa-Madogo road.

“Yes, we have recovered two bodies blocked by a tree overnight. They were floating. The relatives have picked the bodies,” he said.

Tana River Deputy Governor Mahad Ali Loka, who was leading the rescue operation, appealed to residents to stop crossing the flooded areas or filled-up rivers.

He blamed private boat operators in the area for not providing safety jackets and floaters.

Kapenguria Lodwar highway was cut off by floods. [Shanzu Irisheel, Standard]

The road between Madogo and Garissa was cut off by the floods, forcing people to use the boats to cross. The boats are charging at least Sh1,500 up from Sh30.

Due to the rush, police said the boat that capsized was carrying 45 passengers. The area has been cordoned off by the police to avoid similar tragedies.

Meanwhile, 40 schools in Tana River County have been destroyed by the floods.

According to Tana Delta sub-county Education Director Feiswal Obbo Ashaka, Minha and Wema Secondary schools were affected.  Others are Semikaro, Onkolde, Gadeni, Mwina, Wema and Hatata Primary Schools.

Several mosques and churches in Mororo, Ziwani, and Bakuyu have also been swept away by the floods.

Elsewhere, six people, among them three children, died on Sunday following a landslide that destroyed their homes at Kiganjo village in Mathioya, Murang’a.

Villagers raised the alarm after they discovered three houses had been swept away by a landslide after heavy rains that pounded the area on Sunday night.

Four bodies, of a mother and her three children, were retrieved and moved to Kiriaini Mission Hospital mortuary by the residents.

Retrieve bodies

Early in the morning, a couple were retrieved from the debris alive and rushed to Kiriaini Mission Hospital where they were pronounced dead.

Locals were forced to dig the sludge using their hands and farm tools after calls to have earthmovers deployed to help in retrieving the bodies hit a brick wall.

Murang’a Kenya Red Cross official Immaculate Iteba, who coordinated the exercise, said it was frustrating as locals frantically cleared tonnes of mud with bare hands between 5am and mid-day yesterday.

She said the area was still unstable and urged locals to relocate to Mutitu Polytechnic and Ngutu Primary School for their safety.

“Kenya Red Cross team will ensure the residents are supplied with food and other basic needs once they relocate,” said Iteba.

Gitugi MCA Edwin Wairagu said the community is frustrated after the Murang’a county government failed to mobilise earthmovers to assist in the rescue mission.

“The leadership in Murang’a has failed the locals by not offering equipment to help accomplish this mission,” said the MCA.

Wairagu pleaded with the residents at Kiganjo village to relocate to safer grounds.

“It has been decided that Mutitu Polytechnic and the nearby Ngutu primary schools will play host to the families,” said Wairagu.

Moses Mubena, a resident, said six cows also died, as he blamed Murang’a leadership for failing to respond to calls from the residents after the tragedy struck.

“The villagers were on their own, retrieving the bodies of their neighbours as calls for a response from Murang’a county government and others failed,” said Mubena.

Limuru traders fetch oof flood waters from their premises after a heavy down pour. [George Njunge, Standard]

Lucy Wanjiru, a resident and relative of one of the affected families, said the incident is a blow, as they will need to relocate the affected persons, including the elderly, to safer grounds.

“I have lost my cousin and his wife following the mudslide,” said Wanjiru.

James Kimori, another resident, said the rescue mission kicked off immediately and an alarm was raised by the neighbours.

“Some of the family livestock are feared buried under the debris,” he added.

“The rain was heavy and it disrupted the rescue mission,” said Kimori.

In lower Murang’a, Mwanawikio secondary school in Kakuzi/Mitumbiri ward has been rendered inaccessible as the nearby Landless and Riverside estates in Thika are marooned after Kabati and Thamuru rivers burst their banks.

In Budalang’i, where at least ten schools in Bunyala South have been submerged in flood waters, parents expressed a sense of satisfaction with the decision to delay the school opening.

“Education is an equaliser and we were worried that other pupils and students could go on with schooling as ours remain at home because schools in the area are unreachable. That has unfortunately been the norm whenever floods hit Budalang’i and the rest of the country is safe,” said Joseph Odongo, a parent at Musoma AC Primary which is currently under water.

“I feel that the effects of the floods, especially in Budalang’i, can be contained through implementing the dam sinking processes and strengthening River Nzoia and Yala dykes,” Odongo said.

Report by Hassan Barisa, Boniface Gikandi, Robert Amalemba