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Dozens of residents in Homa Bay and Kisumu counties found themselves without shelter as powerful windstorms destroyed their houses.
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The windstorms occurred on the evening of Sunday, March 24, impacting a minimum of 17 homes in Homa Bay.
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In an exclusive interview with LIFEHACK.co.ke, Chief Eucabeth Obila from the Central Kochia region stated that the impacted families urgently require assistance.
Several families in Kochia ward, Rangwe sub-county in Homa Bay county, and Kayodo village, Kolwa Central ward, Kisumu East sub-county, have been left homeless after fierce windstorms ravaged their homes following Sunday night’s heavy rains.
The storms, which brought strong winds and intense rainfall, left a trail of destruction, forcing residents to seek shelter wherever they could.
In Kochia ward, the residents of Nyarut, Kombogo, and Lower Kowili villages in the Central Kochia location spent a sleepless night as their houses were completely destroyed.
Area Chief Eucabeth Obila stated that more than 17 homes lost their rooftops, exposing residents to the chill.
The destruction also affected three churches, which were blown off by the winds, and multiple crop farms were swept away by the raging floods, leaving farmers with nothing.
What caused the windstorm in Homa Bay?
A victim named Mary Akinyi, a 45-year-old woman from Nyarut Village, recounted the frightening events of that night.
“I was sound asleep as the storm started. The wind was roaring so fiercely that, before I realized what happened, our roof was torn away from our home. My kids and I then had to rush out into the heavy downpour to find refuge at our neighbor’s place,” said Akinyi, her voice filled with emotion.
Like many others in the region, Akinyi is now left with only her devastated house and dispersed possessions.
During an exclusive interview with
LIFEHACK.co.ke
, Chief Obila urgently appealed to humanitarian groups and the State Department of Disaster Management for prompt aid to support the impacted families.
“Our community desperately requires assistance. Numerous individuals have been left with nothing, and we can’t afford to delay aid any further,” she stated.
At the same time, in Kayodo village, the circumstances were equally dire, with multiple households being trapped when their roofs were ripped away by the strong gusts of wind.
The inhabitants currently face homelessness, with their dwellings reduced to rubble, and their means of living under threat.
Following the storm, both communities have been left stunned, with families now possessing barely anything beyond the remnants of their former dwellings.
The roofs of Homa Bay schools were torn away due to powerful gusts of wind.
Earlier, LIFEHACK.co.ke reported that powerful gusts had forced students at two institutions in Homa Bay County to conduct their classes outdoors beneath the shade of trees. The reason being that the winds had torn off the school buildings’ rooftops.
The impacted institutions included Kikubi Comprehensive School and St. George’s Junior School, with both locations experiencing damage not only to their toilets but also to their administrative sections.
Multiple households experienced damage during the strong winds on the evening of Monday, March 10, as the gusts stripped away the rooftops of their rented homes in the Nyandiwa trading center within the Suba South constituency.