• Central region Red Cross is conducting an assessment of the damage caused by rains.
• Families affected will require help.
Image: ALICE WAITHERA
More than 5,000 acres have been swamped by landslides in Murang'a county and more than 300 people affected by floods and mudslides.
Central region Red Cross manager Gitonga Mugambi said landslides have mainly affected Mathioya and Kigumo subcounties where tens of families have been displaced and about 10 hours destroyed.
The Red Cross is assessing the extent of damage and the number of people displaced and in need.
Gitongo also said the assessment will establish how the coronavirus has affected residents and how the destitute can be assisted.
“All these people have had their livelihoods disrupted and their source of income destroyed,” he said.
Most of the affected people already were in need, he said, calling on the county government to provide urgent assistance.
In the region, Murang'a has the highest number of landslides, followed by Kiambu, Nyeri and Kirinyaga.
About 200 families have been affected.
Gitongo urged people displaced by the rains to avoid camping in schools and encouraged other families to take them in to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.
About 25,000 people are suffering from the economic effects of Covid-19 and require assistance.
“The virus has aggravated the situation and made it impossible for the people who depended on casual labour to continue working normally,” Gitongo said.
Murang'a director of meteorology Paul Murage said the consistent heavy rains have caused the soil to reach its maximum saturation level.
Image: ALICE WAITHERA
Heavy cultivation and deforestation have removed vegetation with deep roots that held the soil together.
These conditions may lead to more landslides in higher tea zones where bushes grow on slopes.
Last week, the landslides caused a water shortage in Murang’a town after the intake pipe of the Murang’a Water and Sanitation Company was destroyed.
The Maragua River that flows from the Aberdares and joins the Tana River also overflowed its banks at the Matithi area, flooding farms.
Landslides may increase as rains continue to pound the area. Lower Kiharu and Maragua areas are at risk of flooding, weatherman Murage said.
Huge cracks have appeared in Murarandia village, Kahuro subcounty, causing residents to panic.
In December last year, 12 families were displaced after their land started sinking.
Nakadaini Dam, which provides 82 per cent of the water consumed in Nairobi county, has never stopped spilling over since it filled up in November last year.
Murage said the overflow only declined during the first months of the year.
He warned that Waruiru 1 and 2 dams, also known as the Mariiki dam, need to be inspected as they had a leak late last year.
“Most community-run dams that are from the colonial period and should be inspected to have their safety status established," Murage told the Star.
(Edited by V. Graham)