Snow in Kenya destroys crops

Written By:Rose Kamau/ , Posted: Thu, Aug 19, 2010

Caption: The snow covered the area destroying property and crops


In a rare occurrence farmers in Gatimu village in Ol-Joro-Orok division, Cntral Province are counting losses after their crops were covered by a blanket of snow following heavy rains accompanied by hailstones.

The rain that pounded the area Wednesday evening left a trail of destruction in its wake in the incident residents described as bizarre near the Lake Ol-Borosat forest in Nyandarua West district.

The rain accompanied by a strong whirlwind and thunderstorms forced residents to flee their homes which were also covered by the snow.

Several hectares of land are now covered by some 6 inches of ice which has destroyed crops.

A resident Mr. Charles Gakobo is among those counting losses after his wheat crop was totally destroyed.

"I have actually lost about 50 acres of wheat as a result of the rains. So far I have spent about half a million shillings for production and I don't know whether I will be able to recover even a fraction of the loss", he said.

The farmers are now calling on the government to look for ways of cushioning against the loss.

They say they need new seeds for re-planting even as they blame the meteorological department for failing to warn them over such an eventuality.

This is the second time the area is experiencing such an occurrence after snow destroyed crops and property in nearby Gathanji area in September 2008.

Kenya lies in the tropics which makes the occurence of snow something of a novelty except at the peak of Mount Kenya where its presence continues to attract tourists to the area to witness the strange occurence.