HEAVY DOWNPOUR CAUESES CURSES AND CARNIVAL AMONG GSA RESIDENTS

BY ADOW JUBAT

Business people in Garissa town are counting huge losses after heavy downpour swept away tens of millions of their life time investment on Sunday night.

The heavy rains that pounded Garissa town for the better part of Sunday night and early morning on Monday washed away business premises, after poorly constructed drainage system and choked culverts diverted the running water into trading centers in the town.

 According to local metrological department, the rain experienced in the town on Sunday was heaviest compared to the rainfall traditional expected in the area.

The Garissa county director of metrological department Simon Gachuiri, said the overnight downpours in Garissa town alone stand at 61.2mm which he noted is uncommon in the area.

He said “When rainfall is more than 50mm is said to be very heavy in the region. Weather forecast predict that there will be more similar rain in the next two days”,

Traders at the famous suq Muqdi (the black) market were waked up into a rude shock, after reporting for business this morning only to find their submerged stalls with their wares buried under heaps of mud, while other goods such as food stuffs were washed away in the raging flash flood waters.

Aisha Mohamed one of the effected traders looked at her damaged empty stall whose contents were washed away or submerged. “When the rain started pounding last and continued to the morning I had great fears that my business would be affected. My fear has now being confirmed this destruction,” She said pointed to her flooded stall.

Armed police officers were deployed into the market to keep away members of the public who were milling around in utter disbelief and stop would be thieves from stealing the strewn away goods before their own could salvage them.

Security personnels had also a difficult time in control huge members of the public, who gathered around a damaged petrol station to scoop the petrol and diesels which were spilling from the damaged underground tanks.

 Underground tanks holding hundreds of thousands of gallons of petrol and diesels bursted under impact of raging floods, after poorly constructed culvert nearby got blocked and forcing the raging water to change its course toward the premium patrol station on the outskirts of Garissa town. The water forced the underground tanks to collapse and vomit its content outside to mingle into the running waters.

Earlier on before the arrival of the police there was drama after members of the public trooped to the station and started scooping the spilled oil obvious of the danger they were exposing to themselves.

Abdi Abdullahi the owner of the petrol station estimated his losses at 30 million shilling saying that tanks have extensively damaged after culverts got blocked forcing the raging rain waters to flood into his filling station.

“I can estimate my losses over Sh.30million I don’t blame anyone as rain is a blessing from God but I would urge the county government to at least make the culverts wide and undertake their work professionally so that it does not get blocked easily,” He advised.

Garissa Deputy County Commissioner Dominic Kyenza said they have called for a crises meeting involving security team, business people, National environment management authority (NEMA), Kenya Red Cross and leaders from local County Government to plan for eventualities such as the one currently experienced as more and furious rains are expected in the County in the next few days.

The administrator cautioned members of the public from harvesting the flood waters which has being adulterated with the inflammables (petrol/diesels) and warned them from milling around the leaking petrol station in bid to scoop the spilling petroleum  products noting that it is dangerous to do so.

 “Please keep away from this petrol station for your own safety,” said Kyenza told hundreds of youth ready with empty contains to fetch the spilling petrol.

Police condoned off the station as personnel from Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), fire brigade vehicle and Kenya Red Cross officials stood by for any possible fire breakout.

However, for pastoralist the coming of the rain brought about carnival mood as some of the families come out in big numbers to welcome the start of the long awaited rains.

Bitten by prolong dry spell for the nomad families faced with imminent lose of their livestock by the ravaged drought have now breathed a sigh of relief following the heavy downpour.