Hundreds displaced as heavy rains pound Mombasa
A resident of Mburukenge receives relief supplies from Kenya Red Cross officials, Mombasa County Executive for Planning Francis Thoya (left) and Mvita MP Abdullswamad Shariff (second right) on June 3, 2015. More than 3,000 people have been displaced by floods in Mombasa County following heavy rains. PHOTO | WACHIRA MWANGI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Kenya Red Cross Society said among the people affected and injured by the floods were children and expectant women.
- Residents of Mburukenge who were displaced after the collapse of a perimeter wall at M M Shah School received blankets and mosquito nets.
- On Tuesday Mombasa County government officials led by Mr Thoya had started to move the displaced families to a make-shift camp.
- Mvita MP, Abdullswamad Nassir said there were plans for the county government to start a low-cost housing scheme.
About 3,000 people in Mombasa have been displaced following heavy rains that have been pounding the county for the last one week.
Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) County Manager, Soud Tengah said among the people affected and injured by the floods were children and expectant women.
Mr Tengah said people from all the six constituencies of Mombasa County have been affected.
“All the constituencies are suffering but the most affected areas are Changamwe, Kisauni, Jomvu, Kalahari and Mburukenge slums,” he said.
Mr Tenga was speaking at the Mburukenge slums, where the KRCS in collaboration with Mombasa County leaders launched the distribution of relief supplies.
Residents of Mburukenge who were displaced after the collapse of a perimeter wall at M M Shah School received blankets, mosquito nets, and kitchen sets from the KRCS.
Mr Tengah said there was a likelihood that the number of people affected by the floods could increase.
“We are urging those families who are living on the lower areas to shift to higher ground because we already have communication from the weather experts that this rains will continue,” said Mr Tengah.
RAINS TO INTENSIFY AGAIN
The Meteorological Department announced that the rains would subside in three days but later intensify again.
Assistant Director of Public Weather Ayub Shaka said weather patterns indicated the rains would drop beginning Thursday but will pick up again next Wednesday.
Mombasa County Lands Executive Francis Thoya urged families living in places prone to landslides to vacate.
“We are monitoring these areas, but we are urging people to move to the higher ground because once it rains again we are going to face some serious problems,” he said.
On Tuesday, county government officials, led by Mr Thoya, had started to move the displaced families to a makeshift camp.
Mr Thoya said the government needs to invest heavily in infrastructure.
He said that every year residents of the county faced tragedies caused by floods and as county leaders they were setting aside funds for infrastructure.
“We intended to use at least Sh15 billion to improve our infrastructure, which includes dealing with the drainage systems. We need to invest on infrastructure to avoid these problems,” said Mr Thoya.
Mvita MP Abdullswamad Nassir, who had also joined the KRCS team in the distribution of the aid, said there were plans for the county government to start a low-cost housing scheme.
“We have discussed these issues with the county government and I am glad that the plans are on because the housing scheme will make us convince everyone living in dangerous areas to go live in better areas,” he said.
