The government has promised to resettle all the families affected by flash floods in Gilgil which left seven dead, including four minors.
Two days after Oljorai village was washed by the floods, the affected families received relief food and non-food items as they tried to come to terms with the Monday night incident.
During the incident, heavy downpour in the Eburru hills caused the flash floods that swept tens of houses in Oljorai, killing the seven and tens of livestock.
Gilgil MP Martha Wangari said it is the first time in history that flash floods had caused deaths in the area.
She said that as the government moved in to resettle the affected families, there was a need to look at long-term measures like tree planting in the hills to avoid such a calamity.
“This is a disaster that has caused so much pain and destruction in this area and we are working with the national government to assist those affected,” the MP said.
Speaking after visiting the affected families, Wangari called on the county to help desilt tens of dams in the area as one of the mitigation measures.
“Several homes and a school are still submerged in water and we shall walk with these families even during the burial of the seven,” she said.
Nakuru Transport executive Michael Kamau said that they would move in to de-silt all the dams in the area and reopen blocked roads.
“We have moved in to support the affected families and we shall be working on all the blocked drainages to avoid any more deaths in future,” he said.
The area chief Patrick Sururu said that a total of 69 houses were either flooded or washed by the gushing waters that also flooded farms and nearby schools.
He said that those in hospital were in stable condition after they were rescued by members of the public from the floods.
“So far the number of deaths remains seven, which includes the four minors and three women and the process of reconstruction away from the water way has kicked off,” Sururu said.
One of the victims, Josephine Wanjiru, whose family lost three minors called for more support from the government, noting that nothing was salvaged during the incident.
“The minors were in the house when the roof caved in before they were swept by the waters but my mother who is in hospital was rescued,” she said.
Another victim, Wilson Sururu, said that his sister who died was on her way home from a neighbour’s home when she was swept by the flash floods.
“She has left behind three minors and we are appealing to the government to assist in their education and construction of a new house,” he said.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
