Thousands of residents in Garissa town and the neighbouring Mororo village in Tana River County have been displaced by floods after the River Tana burst its banks.
In Garissa town, residents of Bulla Punda, Kamor, Sheikh, Vumbi, Windsor, and Bulla Nyuki were forced to seek safety on higher grounds after floods from the swollen river submerged their houses.
Among the flood victims is Ibrahim Sankus Aden, 80 years old, from Bulla Punda village. He said he was forced to flee with his family of 14 children and 4 wives to Jaribu primary school after the river floods submerged his residential houses.
“We are just camping in this open-air compound with no tents. We lost several household items and food stuff in the floods,” said Ibrahim.
He revealed that four months ago they were forced to camp in the same school after the El Nino rains displaced them.
On the other hand, Aden Hassan Bille, the Garissa County Chairperson of Persons with Disabilities, who also serves as the chairman of Bulla Punda residents, is among the internally displaced persons camping at Jaribu Primary School.
Speaking on behalf of the affected families, the chairman called for urgent donations of tents and food aid.
He said the majority of the affected families were sleeping in the cold after the river floods displaced them on Saturday night. “We are tired of the series of displacements; we need a lasting solution to the endless cycles of the River Tana floods,” said Aden.
He blamed the released water dams at the Seven Forks hydroelectric station for their woes. “After El Nino rains, we had a meeting with officials in Kengen, and they promised that they will build more dams to address the endless crisis. The government must come up with an urgent remedy to this endless crisis,” he stated.
He urged organisations assisting the affected families to do so via cash transfer programmes and not donations of relief food, regretting that during the El Nino floods some people looted food donations meant for the displaced families.
Batula Mohamed Lukumso, a representative of Bulla Kamor flood victims, appealed for urgent help, regretting that the sanitation of the schools they were camping in was bad and that some of the families were sleeping in the cold without shelter or food.
His sentiments were also echoed by Said Abdullahi, a youth leader from Bulla punda.
Several government institutions and private institutions have also been affected by the floods, among them Jamhuri Club, Galbet Chief Office, the Director Teacher Service Commission, North Eastern headquarters offices, and North Eastern Technical Training College.
Others are the Garissa livestock slaughter house, Salama Girls Secondary, and the Garissa Farmers Training Center. They have all been submerged by the River floods.
Mosques have not been spared by the deluge, with the worst hit being the Katim and Towfiq mosques in Bulla Kamor.
Sheikh Sahal Mohamed, the Imam of Tawfiq mosque, said the prayer mats and public address systems were submerged by the floods.
Meanwhile, the affected families are constructing makeshift houses at Jaribu Primary, Kazuko Girls, Hyuga Girls, the North Eastern Police Training Centre, Iftin Primary School, and Young Muslim Secondary School in Garissa Town.
Residents of Mororo, Bakuyu,Bakuyu and Ziwani areas of Tana River County have also been displaced by floods and have sought refuge in schools in the neighbouring Garissa town.
By Erick Kyalo
