Coast Regional Commissioner (RC) John Elungata has toured flood-hit areas in Tana River County to assess the extent of destruction to properties and human displacement due to flooding.
The deadly floods have left more than 5,000 people homeless and acres of maturing crops along the river bank submerged leaving locals at the mercy of relief aid.
Most of the roads in the flood prone county were rendered inaccessible to motorists following the intensity of the floods.
The floods have since cut off sections of the main road in Bura sub county disabling transport along the Mombasa-Hola-Garissa highway.
Elungata who was accompanied by area County Commissioner (CC) Oning’oi ole Sosio and Coast Development Authority (CDA) Managing Director Dr. Mohamed Keinan urged residents to move to safer grounds.
He said with heavy rains still pounding the catchment areas the flow is expected to increase with obvious consequences downstream and asked residents to move from low lying areas to higher grounds.
Elungata on Wednesday said food and non-food items were distributed to the displaced persons in Galole and Tana Delta sub counties last week.
He supervised the distribution of facemasks, hand sanitisers, bar soaps and sanitary towels to those living in displaced camps in worst affected areas.
The RC asked the displaced to maintain hygiene, social distance and stressed on wearing masks in public places to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Elungata said the Kenya Coast Guard Service has stepped up surveillance for coronavirus in the high seas to keep the contagious disease at bay.
Oning’oi ole Sosio said the floods have not killed anyone and attributed it to early flood alerts that were sounded by the national government.
He also said although the county has not recorded any positive case of the coronavirus residents should not to drop their guard against the pandemic.
A resident of Makere village near Hola town, badly hit by flood waters, Aisha Ziebi told KNA that those whose houses had been swept away are staying with friends and relatives as well as in public buildings such as schools that were spared by the floods.
She said the flooding has become an annual ritual that displaces people and affect development in the region.
By Hussein Abdullahi
Regional commissioner tours flood affected areas in Tana River
