• Ndakaini Dam, the biggest reservoir in the country and which supplies water to Nairobi county, is spilling over.
• County Red Cross coordinator Immaculate Iteba said three houses in Kiharu and one in Kangema have been destroyed by mudslides.
Image: Alice Waithera
Murang’a residents have been urged to be on the lookout for earth movements as rains continue to pound most parts of the county.
County director of meteorology Anthony Kinyua said soils are already saturated.
This, he said, has led to mudslides in some areas, especially in the upper zones that are prone to landslides.
“We have seen mudslides cause a lot of destruction of property and families accrue huge losses,” he said.
In some parts, debris has blocked roads, paralysing transport.
Kinyua said April will be the peak of the long rains and many areas have recorded above average rainfall.
He appealed to those living in urban areas to be cautious of floods, saying some houses, especially in the lower parts of the county, have been affected.
Kinyua said rivers have swollen after the heavy rainfall in the upper tea zone areas.
Ndakaini Dam, the biggest reservoir in the country and which supplies water to Nairobi county, is spilling over.
Constructed in 1994, the dam has a storage capacity of 70,000,000 cubic metres of water and is 65 metres deep, producing 430,000 cubic metres of water.
The dam has been spilling more than 2.5 cubic metres of water per second that is discharged through Chania River, which connects with the Thika River.
This, Kinyua said, means Thika River may cause floods in areas neighbouring it such as Ithanga and Kaguku.
He said Kiambicho forest weather station recorded 53.1mm of rain on Saturday night, with some parts recording as much as 100mm of rain in a day.
The director urged motorists to exercise caution, saying some roads may be affected by floods or mudslides.
“Murang’a county has recorded many landslides in the past, some of which resulted to loss of lives,” he said.
In 2018, four members of a family died after a landslide swept away a house in Inoi village, Kahuro subcounty, as they slept.
Last week, some roads like Murang’a-Kiriaini and Nyoka Nyoka were blocked by debris as a result of mudslides but the county disaster team removed them.
Others such as Kimandi-Wanyaga road have been affected by earth movements that have eaten into parts of it, rendering one lane unusable.
County Red Cross coordinator Immaculate Iteba said three houses in Kiharu and one in Kangema have been destroyed by mudslides.
She said her team is monitoring the effects of the rains and advising residents to move from risky areas.
“We have a trained team that is in the villages monitoring the situation and advising residents on the appropriate action to take,” she said.