Written by Phanice Pkemei 2012-03-07 15:35:00 Read 514 Times

Keiyo District commissioner Mr. Mohammed Abass has ordered members of twenty families at the landslide- prone village of Roome in Kamogich location to relocate to safer places before the onset of the long rains.

The DC said the residents risked being washed away by the landslides once the rains start. “The area experienced huge landslides in 2010 around this time of year,” he said. “Already, huge gaping cracks have formed across the village.”

Mr. Abass said this at a public araza at Anin dispensary after touring the landslide area accompanied by departmental heads and keiyo North MP Lucas Chepkitony.

The District officer and chiefs were asked to ensure the affected families are relocated to safer sites immediately to avoid calamities.

He asked Keiyo residents to intensify reforestation especially along the Kerio escarpment, he decried the wanton destruction of trees in the area and ordered chiefs to ensure the malpractice is stopped   to avoid landslides in future.

The warning comes after the Meteorological Department’s Director of Meteorological Services, Joseph Mukabana, warned of flash flooding in Kano and Budalang’i with isolated cases of landslides and mudslides were likely in some parts of Western and Rift Valley provinces.

Tuesday, Dr. Mukabana had predicted depressed and poorly distributed rainfall over most parts of the country during the March-May season.

This was due to weak La-Niña conditions – cooler than average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) – present over the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean. Slightly cooler than average SSTs were also observed over western Equatorial Indian Ocean last month and in January.

"Warm SSTs over the South-West Indian Ocean basin are conducive for the formation of tropical cyclones (TCs) during the March to May period. The TC presence may, therefore, affect the forecasted rainfall conditions over different parts of the country," said Mukabana.

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