How heavy downpour is threatening Cyprian Awiti’s homestead

The Cyprian Awiti-led County is under a high threat of the heavy rains that are pouring the region. On Saturday night alone, at least 11 households were swept away by floods in Kawiti sublocation in Homa Bay county.

The families were forced to spend the night in the cold after the downpour, which started around 8pm, swept their households into Lake Victoria.

The families also lost cows, goats, chicken and foodstuff.

Crops destroyed by floods following exessive sand harvesting at Kobal village within Homa Bay.Pix Habil Onyango

A victim, Samson Ololo, almost lost his family after his first wife’s house was swept away. “At first we thought it was normal rains which usually pound the area,” the 65-year-old said.

“We became curious when the walls started to leak,” he added

Ololo lost 10 bags of maize, four goats and several chicken among other goods.

Peter Ochieng, a father of four, said he was fortunate that the incident occurred “while I was at home or we could be mourning the death of our children today”.

Ochieng, whose wife was away at the market, luckily arrived home just as the downpour started. He was forced to vacate the children to a nearby house to save their lives.

“I have lost everything including the only four bags of maize I had and a calf,” he said.r

Assistant chief John Onyango said the rain destroyed the roofs of Lwala and Nyanja Rateng’ primary schools and destroyed desks among other damages.

Several acres of farms were also destroyed especially along the lake, he said.

The administrator estimated the total cost of the already recorded damages at at least Sh1 million. More rains are expected this week.

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