Families Evacuated After Residential Apartment Develops Cracks

About twenty families have been evacuated in Kirinyaga County after a residential apartment developed cracks.

The residents who were evacuated on Tuesday, March 7, 2024, were forced to salvage their belongings from the apartment in the middle of the night.

This was after some of the tenants noticed cracks in the inner rooms of the three-story building.

Speaking to the press, the tenants said that the apartment owner was quickly notified about the incident and rushed to the scene to verify the claims.

This prompted the owner to launch an evacuation process as parts of the apartment walls had begun to crumble.

Building Develops Cracks

“The cracks had started to develop in our houses. Tenants were given a three-day notice to vacate because it was deemed too risky to continue staying at the building. County officials instructed us to move as immediately as possible,” said a tenant.

Also Read: Death Reported as Four-Storey Building Collapses on Woman’s House

The tenants further revealed that the building developed cracks following the construction of other floors on top of the existing structure.

Kirinyaga County Lands Minister Samwel Njoroge in collaboration with security officers were at the scene to lead the evacuation process.

The County officials said that a comprehensive audit and report of the building will be released on May 9, 2024.

The evacuation came days after another building in the same County collapsed leading to a fatality.

One person was confirmed dead on May 1, 2024, after a four-story apartment that was under construction in Kirinyaga Central collapsed.

At the same time, two more people sustained injuries from the incident that happened amid the ongoing heavy rains.

According to reports, the deceased was asleep in a house adjacent to the collapsed building.

Also Read: Govt Temporarily Bans Select Construction Works, Shares Safety Measures

She met her death after the rubbles of the collapsed storey building fell on her house.

Also, another storey building in Nairobi County collapsed on the night of May 7, 2024.

Apartment collapses in Nairobi

The 10-storey apartment located at Nairobi’s Mountain View Ward, Westlands Sub County, near the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) began by sinking before it collapsed.

However, no fatalities were reported as the Disaster Management Unit in its report accounted for all the thirty-four residents housed in the collapsed building.

In an update on Wednesday, Nairobi County government officials said it had accounted for the residents following Tuesday’s incident.

“The building was sinking slowly, and all the residents were able to jump out and manage to exit the building,” Brawmwel Simiyu, Nairobi County Disaster Management Chief Officer said.

Simiyu said Nairobi City County Emergency team will continue to scour the scene while awaiting assistance from the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) who will bring the sniffer dogs to eliminate any possibility of individuals trapped in the debris.

Meanwhile, the National Construction Authority (NCA) while issuing directive on construction works in the country ordered for the cessation of new construction activities at the onset of heavy rains and flooding in the country.

NCA Executive Director Maurice Akech in a statement on Saturday, May 4, 2024, issued the directive saying that new construction works, especially works near waterways and new excavations, should be halted, a move aimed at prioritizing safety in the face of increased risks posed by heavy rains

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