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More than 18 families have been displaced by floods that destroyed their property around Nyandiwa Market in Suba South constituency.
The raging floods followed a downpour on Saturday. Families were forced to vacate and seek refuge elsewhere after their rental houses were flooded.
Some people were marooned in the trading centre. Household items were swept away.
The downpour was continuing on Sunday.
Some families have been forced to stay with their neighbours, crowding into small quarters, violating Covid-19 protocols requiring physical distancing.
Resident Bernard Odhiambo said on Sunday the situation makes them vulnerable to Covid-19.
“The social distancing required for containing the coronavirus is not adhered to. They have to stay with others since they have nowhere to go,” Odhiambo said.
Odhiambo called on the Homa Bay department of disaster management to intervene.
“Most of them can't comply with social distancing. Let the government to come up interventions,” Odhiambo said.
Speaking to journalists, Suba South deputy county commissioner Joseph Maina said the floods also caused havoc in several shops in the trading center.
He said the flooding in the trading centre resulted from poor construction and drainage of the Nyandiwa-Nyenga road.
He said the contractor blocked normal water drainage systems during construction, thus directing water to the market in case of heavy rains
“It’s important for the contractor to come fast and make furrows to open blocked water channels. The market will continually get flooded if nothing is done,” Maina said.
He said no lives were lost.
“We’re assessing to establish the value of properties destroyed since some domestic items were swept into Lake Victoria,” he added.
The DCC urged Homa Bay department of disaster management to provide humanitarian assistance and find a permanent solution.
(Edited by V. Graham)
