- At the rescue centres, there was congestion as more families were seeking shelter, and others lacked food and appropriate bedding.
- The county has also set up a Toll-free emergency number 080072057 where members of the public can report on emergency evacuation needs.
Image: FAITH MATETE
More than 4500 households have been affected by the raging floods in Nyando with fears of increased numbers as rains continue to pound different regions across the country.
Marooned homes, others submerged with water covering access road marked the face of floods within the subcounty.
Various family members were seen making frantic efforts to salvage their belongings from their submerged houses.
Boat operators in Kakola Ombaka made a kill by ferrying goods from the houses to safe grounds.
Rescue missions were ongoing as those who were stuck and stranded were being evacuated.
At the rescue centres, there was congestion as more families were seeking shelter, and others lacked food and appropriate bedding.
According to Acting Kisumu county commissioner Hussein Alanson Hussein, they have estimated that around 4,500 households have been affected by the raging floods.
He was speaking to the media at the Kakola Ombaka location accompanied by teams from both Kadibo and Nyando subcounty including the Red Cross.
Hussein advised those living around the lake and along River Nyando which burst its banks on Sunday morning to move to higher grounds because it's still raining.
"There is still more rain and from what we have witnessed we want people living along the River Nyando to move to high ground for safety . So far we have not lost any person," he said.
He also said they have established an evacuation centre at Ombaka where the affected families are currently taking shelter as more are still being brought to the camp.
The county disaster management team, he said asked for support from the National Disaster Management Center to assist the affected families.
"We have also sent out an appeal for emergency support for food and non-food items from both the national and county government and currently we are expecting the national team's assistance from Tuesday."
Hussein, however, noted that to address some of the flooding challenges, they have already talked to the county government about the need to repair or rebuild some of the dykes that were washed away.
Residents called for the fast-tracking of the construction of the Koru-Soin Dam saying this will be an answer to the flooding woes that have been affecting the people within the subcounty.
As of Sunday, a total of 1,500 families had been affected by the raging floods within the subcounty.
This comes even as the county government led by Governor Anyang Nyong’o appealed to individual well-wishers, non-state actors, companies and religious organisations to donate food and non-food items to the affected families.
The governor said the victims are in dire need of food, water, and non-food items like bed nets, tents, blankets and medicine among others.
"Officers from the County’s Directorate of Special Programmes and subcounty administrators are actively on the ground coordinating the evacuation exercise. I would like to appeal to those still in their homes to try and get their way to the nearest evacuation centres," Nyong'o said.
The county has also set up a Toll-free emergency number 080072057 where members of the public can report on emergency evacuation needs.
The Red Cross is also operating a Toll-Free emergency number-1199 for reports.
Last week in an update by the governor on the flood situation in Kisumu, they also flagged off trucks ferrying food and non-food items worth Sh5 million to the affected areas.
The distribution of these items has been going on and some families have been rescued and taken to evacuation centres.
A Multi-Agency Disaster Management committee has been meeting to mitigate the flooding emergency.