At least two lives have been confirmed lost in two separate incidents of drowning following a heavy downpour that hit some parts of Marsabit County.
Marsabit County commissioner Nobert Komora said the two persons who drowned early Wednesday morning were a 70-year-old man from Loglogo location’s Lbaarok area which got flooded following a 4-hour non-stop downpour.
The elderly man was caught up by the floods that were charged by runoff from Mt Marsabit as he slept, sweeping him away together with the hut.
In the second incident, a lower primary school girl aged about six years died after she fell into a ditch filled with run-off water in Marsabit town’s Old Town area after the town experienced a rain storm.
Mr Komora ordered chiefs and their assistants to heighten sensitisation and awareness among residents about the forecasted heavy rains.
The county commissioner asked the public administrators to emphasize on the immediate need for people living on lower grounds to evacuate to safer areas in order to avert more loss of lives and property.
“We can avoid this costly affair of losing lives, property and suffering if our actions are right and timely” he said.
In Loglogo, most parts of the location experienced displacement with about 500 people exposed to relocation after 120 households were engulfed by water.
Eight households were completely destroyed leaving 40 occupants without shelter while their possessions were lost as the deluge enlarged the waterway in the hitherto narrow seasonal watercourse.
The affected families are staring at starvation and are in dire need of emergency food, shelter and clothing assistance.
The county which has been reeling under severe drought has of late been receiving enhanced rains as predicted by the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) and local weather forecasters.
