State to build dykes on River Nyando to stem floods

Two people were killed in Kisumu county on Sunday by floods after River Nyando burst its banks.

A 50-year-old man died in Ombaka village, Nynado subcounty, after he was swept away by raging floods.

A sand excavator in Nyamasaria, Kisumu East, died while at work near a swollen river.

County police commander Ranson Lolmodooni confirmed the two deaths. "They are flood-related," he told the Star on the phone on Monday.

He, however, said he had not received reports for two women reported killed by floods in Seme subcounty.

Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa said plans are under way to construct a four-kilometer dyke along River Nyando to mitigate the floods.

River Nyando usually overflows during downpours, displacing locals from their homesteads.

Wamalwa spoke when he presided over the distribution of relief food and items to affected families on Sunday in Nyando.

The CS assured the displaced families of government support. He asked the county government to allocate more funds to disaster management programmes to assist the needy in flood-prone areas.

Hundreds of residents in Ombaka Kakola are camping at Nyamasao Primary School after being rendered homeless following the ongoing rains.

The families displaced told the government to swiftly embark on the construction of dykes along the river as a permanent solution to the perennial problem.

“We are fed up with being given humanitarian aid every year. The government needs to construct dykes along River Nyando as it did in Budalang'i to mitigate the flood impacts,” John Oketch, a resident, said.

The floods, he said, have left a trail of havoc killing their livestock with their houses marooned.

Nyando MP Jared Okelo and former Kisumu deputy governor Ruth Odinga said the government should provide a permanent solution to floods.

The ongoing heavy rains continue to pose a great danger in the flood flashpoints of the Nyando basin, parts of Muhoroni, Nyakach and Kisumu East.

The Kisumu government through the Directorate of Special Programmes and humanitarian partners are monitoring the unfolding situation.

In Muhoroni, River Aora Chuodho in Ombeyi burst its banks at Kasese area affecting more than 250 households who have since been evacuated to Achuodho Rescue Centre.

Those living around the flood-prone areas and rivers have been asked to move to safe grounds. Ruth asked locals near rivers in the seven subcounties to exercise extreme caution during the rainy season.