Kindiki issues immediate vacation orders for Ruiru village in Kiambu

In a bid to avert disaster, Interior minister Kithure Kindiki has issued mandatory evacuation orders for residents of Rùirù village in Kijabe, Kiambu County, who live near accumulated stormwater.

With water levels rising dangerously around the Kijabe rail line, the CS directed at least 200 families to vacate their homes by 6 pm on Tuesday and relocate to safe spaces established by authorities.

"More water is building up around the Kijabe railway and is likely to cause a bigger catastrophe than what was witnessed downstream in Maaì Mahiù," Kindiki said on a risk assessment and disaster mitigation tour of the area, adding that 86 families had already moved.

Those who fail to move by the deadline will be evacuated mandatorily for public safety, the cabinet secretary said.

As of Tuesday, 61 bodies had been recovered following the Maaì Mahiù tragedy, in which tens of people died on the night of April 28. Heavy nightlong rains caused water to accumulate in a blocked railway drainage upstream at Kinale, causing its walls to collapse and release the water in the wee hours of April 29, 2024.

The Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) said that contrary to popular belief, the water was not from a burst dam but had collected in the tunnel over time, forming a catchment area.

Twenty-seven people are still missing, even as search operations continue, led by 151 Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officers.

Last week, a 24-hour evacuation notice effective May 2, 2024, was issued to settlements in 33 counties within 178 of the 192 dams and water reservoirs that the government classified as high-risk.

Thus far, the national death toll from the floods is 238, the Interior ministry announced earlier on Tuesday, adding that 174 people had been reported injured while 75 were missing. At least 47,000 families, or 235,000 individuals, have been displaced.

"Members of the public affected by this directive will be assisted to find temporary shelter until it is safe to return to their habitual residences," Kindiki assured.

In the meantime, the Kiambu County Security and Intelligence Committee (CSIC) was directed to evacuate all persons whose homes were downstream of stormwater in the event of a drainage system burst.

The government has also directed urgent structural repairs and the drainage of tunnels to prevent death in the area as was the case last week.

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