Hundreds of families who live close to Kariari 1 Dam in Dallas Estate, Embu town were forced to spend on Tuesday night in the rains after the Dam broke its banks submerging their houses in water.
Property valued at millions of shillings was also destroyed in the incident which saw some of the houses flattened by the water during the midnight rains.
Aisha Abdalla, one of the victims narrated how her family escaped death after their mud-walled houses collapsed at around 1am forcing them to flee for safety.
Aisha lives in a house a few metres from the dam whose water levels has increased considerably since the start of rains three months ago.
She says the house was completely submerged in water and had to flee before it collapsed. All her property was destroyed.
Several other families had to seek for shelter from their friends and relatives.
“I was woken up by water that was starting to fill our house and before long, the house sank. Luckily, we had already fled. All my property is now destroyed by the water. How will I start all over again?” said a distressed Aisha.
Morris Nyaga, blamed the County Executive of failing to come up with an emergency fund to assist affected families despite the Assembly setting aside Sh.20million for the kitty each year.
He also accused it for failing to do away with the Dam by piping its water to the nearby River Rupingazi, saying the presence of the Dam was a safety and a health risk to residents.
This is not the first time the Dam has spilt to nearby houses with about 400 families forced to flee their homes as rains wreaked havoc in the area two years ago.
Landlords who have houses close to the dams have also been forced to count losses occasioned by the tenants fleeing houses that get submerged by the dam water.
Francis Kinuthia, owns a plot that has been vacated due to the water and he says that he sorely depends on the plot as a source of livelihood.
By Muoki Charles
