Peter Baraza, a resident of Manyani, YMCA in Kivumbini ward, is still coming to terms with the destruction caused by last weekend’s heavy downpour.

He is among the many residents whose property was destroyed by the heavy showers last Friday, when storm water flowing downstream caused havoc in two plots at YMCA.

Mr Baraza pointed out that the storm water flowed with so much force, that nothing could contain it.

“I was in the house resting when I was woken up by the water gushing into my house,” Mr Baraza recalls.

He adds that he is lucky his wife and children were not in the house, as they had travelled upcountry.

Mr Baraza, who works as a security guard in one of the high schools in Nakuru, admits that he lost everything of unknown value to the storm water.

He is now homeless and being hosted by a friend as he recollects himself to start life afresh.

Though he sought medical attention at a health facility within Nakuru city after swallowing a lot of water during the incident, Mr Baraza admits that he is still in shock.

Some of the clothes on a hanging line in Baraza's plot that were soaked by storm water.

Photo credit: PRISTONE MAMBILI/MTAA WANGU

A spot check by Mtaa Wangu revealed that the affected plots were constructed on the lower part of the drainage system.

The affected families say they are yet to receive any aid from the county’s disaster department.

Area MCA Neto Sakwa noted that the rainy season though a blessing comes with challenges especially for those living on the lower part of Nakuru City, as all the storm water makes its way to these areas.

He was however quick to note that he has raised the matter with the disaster department to see how the families can be assisted.

This even as Governor Susan Kihika dispatched a team to assess the state of drainage systems in Nakuru City, with an aim to rectify poor drainage systems and avert further disaster incidents.

pmambili@gmail.com

Heavy downpour wreaks havoc in Manyani estate

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Pristone Mambili