Government has issued an advisory to people living around Turkwel Dam to relocate to safer grounds with the water reservoir expected to spill in the coming days.
Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna says the government has been monitoring the dam and that it is expected to spill with heavy rains pounding the region.
He says the dam as it stands now has only 1.6m to overflow.
Areas likely to be affected include Kalemnyang, Loyapat, Nakwomoru, Lodwar and settlements along the shores of Lake Turkana.
“The government has been monitoring various facilities and Lakes and one of them is the Turkwel Dam which is almost overflowing. We, therefore, appeal to our people to move to safer areas to avert a disaster” he said.
Oguna who addressed the media on Thursday at Lake Nakuru National Park also appealed to Kenyans living near rising Lakes across the country to take precautionary measures and pay attention to the advisories being given by the government.
He called on Media practitioners to play a key role in ensuring members of the public get to know the changing environmental aspects to avert disasters.
“We are not just talking about Turkwel Dam but all those living in areas where there is a probability of Lakes rising to also be keen on the alerts and advisories being given by the government,” said Oguna.
Turkwel dam is located between Turkana and West Pokot counties.
It has a capacity of 1.6 billion m3 and covers an area of 16,061 acres.
The dam is Kenya’s highest at 1,150 metres and produces 106MW of electricity.