Residents' plight as river Tana banks burst

Thousands of people living near the River Tana are spending nights in the cold after it burst its banks on Tuesday.

A humanitarian crisis is looming in some parts Garissa and Tana River counties after floods swept away homes, crops, animals and property valued at millions of shillings.

This has prompted residents to move to higher ground and build shacks.

Young Muslim Association manager Mohamed Hailow told the Nation Thursday that about 400 families displaced from Bakuyu area were camping at a secondary school run by the NGO.

He said the families had not received any assistance from the national or county governments.

Mr Hailow said while some built makeshift houses, a vast majority were sleeping in the open and going without food.

He added that the snacks being provided by his organisation were not enough and asked for more assistance from authorities and humanitarian agencies.

“More than 400 families are seeking shelter at the school. No organisation, apart from Young Muslim Association, has come to their help,” he said, adding that the displaced people were in danger of contracting and spreading diseases like cholera and dysentery.

The government, however, denied reports that two labourers in Sankuri drowned while attempting to swim to safety following the floods.

Garissa Township Deputy County Commissioner Hiddi Galgallo said police had not received any report of deaths as claimed by farmers.

Mr Galgallo said a rescue team had been deployed to the affected areas to assess the extent of the damage and the needs of displaced people.

“We have deployed a team that will map the area and make a report on the damage. The report will be sent to relevant authorities for action as soon as we receive it,” the deputy county commissioner told journalists.

KENGEN TO BLAME
According to Garissa Woman Rep hopeful Fatuma Kinsi Abass, more than 70 people were rescued after spending the night on trees at Jarirot Village near Garissa Town.

She told the Nation that centres for the displaced families had been set up at Sankuri, Windsor, Ziwani and five other places.

Ms Abass blamed power firm Kengen for releasing huge volumes of water into the river without considering the plight of hundreds of farmers downstream.

She said the residents needed compensation since their livelihoods had been destroyed.

“We rushed to Jarirot when we received reports of people missing but we managed to rescue 71. We took them to safer places,” Ms Abass said.

“The most unfortunate thing is that there is no rain in Garissa but the floods are as a result of Kengen releasing more water to the river. Company officials only tell farmers to move to safer areas but how do they expect these people to survive?”

She accused the company of not compensating the residents even when they were killed by the water or their property destroyed.

“The farmers have invested a lot in irrigation,” she added.