Some 2,855 flood victims in Homa Bay have received relief food from the national government.
Floods have displaced hundreds of families and destroyed crops with Rangwe and Karachuonyo constituencies among the worst affected.
The government gave 370 bags of rice, 200 bags of beans and 50 bales each containing 25kgs of fortified flour for porridge.
The families received the donations at Odienya Secondary School and Nyarut Primary School in Kochia in Rangwe constituency and at Bala Primary School in Karachuonyo constituency n Saturday.
The distribution was overseen by Hma Bay county commissioner Kipkemei Yetich.
The victims have been camping at the schools for more than a week.
MPs Lillian Gogo (Rangwe) and Adipo Okuome (Karachuonyo) and MCAs Ojala Nyang’i (Kochia), Michael Nyatingli (Kibiri) and Homa Bay Agriculture executive Aguko Juma were present.
Yetich said the government will donate non-food items through Red Cross.
“The government doesn’t want its people to get malnourished. We intend to bring other non-food items such as blankets, mosquito nets and jerricans,” Yetich said.
He said they plan to bring maize to the victims.
Speaking at Odienya in Kochia on Saturday, the administrator said more than 3,000 households have been affected by floods in Homa Bay.
“We have people whose crops have also been destroyed by floods,” he said.
Gogo urged both the national and county leaders to join hands and find a permanent solution to the flood menace.
She called for the construction of dykes along main rivers that often burst their banks, causing flooding.
“Let’s come up with flood mitigation measures that would end this perennial problem to enable our people to have stability,” Gogo said.
Okuome urged locals to use of multi-billion Kimira-Oluch irrigation project for sustainable food production.
He said residents would not depend on relief food if they utilise canals that distribute water from River Awach and River Tende for irrigation.
“If we use the excess water from the two rivers for agricultural purposes we would reduce flooding. Let more people use Kimira-Oluch project and improve their livelihood through irrigation,” Okuome said.
edited by peter obuya
