Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA) has partnered with stakeholders in a five-year Integrated Flood Management Plan that aims to stem the ravaging Nyando floods that affect about 2000 people annually.
World Vision, Kisumu County Government, Nema, Kenya Forestry Service, GIZ among other NGOs are part of the flood management plan that has since been adopted by the local community in Nyando.
Speaking to the Standard during an adoption workshop at Katito town in Kisumu, WRMA Sub-regional Manager Fred Nyongesa said flood mitigation is a venture that no single NGO can face head-on because of the financial implications and the need for public participation.
“A single evacuation center, for instance, costs about Sh10 million. That is just one item and many of them will be required. This is the reason why with the integrated approach, every player does their roles while involving the community as they are the biggest stakeholders,” said Nyongesa.
Integrated Flood Management Plan incorporates non-structural measures such as awareness creation, river bank demarcation and campaigns to avoiding settlements along flood paths.
The plan also has structural measures such as the construction of dams, pans, dykes, levee and flood evacuation centers as part of bringing solution to Nyando’s perennial floods.
Nyongesa told the residents that the floods experienced in Nyando area are a consequence of heavy rainfall in the hill slopes of Belgut and Sigowet in Kericho County which have become unbearable due to massive deforestation and poor farming practices.