The Homa Bay government is undertaking emergency evacuation of more than 1,700 families affected by floods.
The county director of Environment and Water Roy Odongo said they were evacuating residents after conducting an assessment and determining the scale of the crisis in the affected areas.
The affected constituencies include Karachuonyo, Rangwe, Suba North, Suba South, Ndhiwa and Homa Bay Town.
A total of 4,785 individuals have been affected by the floods, the majority of them from villages in Karachuonyo constituency.
Some 395 households are sheltered at Osodo Primary School, 312 at Kobuya Primary School and 180 households are taking refuge at Simbi K’Ogembo health centre in Karachuonyo.
Odongo said they are working in collaboration with the national government and humanitarian agencies to assist the affected families.
“The government has issued early alerts to residents living in flood-prone areas. An inter-agency coordinating team is working to mitigate further risks,” Odongo said.
Speaking on Thursday, the director said they have introduced an emergency toll free phone number for residents to call for help. The number is 0800000870.
Plans are underway to de-silt rivers, construct dykes and plant bamboos along the dykes in hotspots.
These will improve resilience and minimise the impact of flooding on families living in the flood-prone areas.
“We’re dedicated to addressing the current flooding challenges and building a more resilient Homa Bay for all its residents,” the director said.
Homa Bay county commissioner Moses Lilan said they are continuing with sensitisation of members of the public to be aware of the dangers of staying in flood-affected areas.
The disaster department committee members are undertaking the programme to avoid injuries and deaths.
Lilan said families in flood-prone areas should be careful as they engage in their daily activities.
“National government administrators are advising residents accordingly to avoid injuries or death. The best thing is to move out of areas that have been marked as floods-prone,” he said.
Kenya Power is reported to have lost electricity poles in raging floods in Chuowe.
Lilan said the agency has been instructed that it moves with speed and repairs the lines that are damaged.
He said anyone passing next to a collapsed power line should be careful to avoid electrocution.
“We don’t want to witness any electrocution in the areas that power lines have been damaged. Let people also not shelter under trees to avoid injuries and deaths,” he added.
