At least 5,000 people displaced by floods in Taveta

Shida Sengonda carries his children to safety after their village flooded following heavy rains in the region on May 8, 2017. PHOTO | LUCY MKANYIKA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Farmers cannot access their flooded farms and are now staring at loses.
  • She said the county government had already informed the contractor of the need to divert the water elsewhere.

Over 5,000 people in Taveta, Taita-Taveta County, have been displaced following floods that hit the area after heavy rains pounded the area and neighbouring Tanzania.

Residents of Bura Ndogo, Kimorigo, Bahati, Vikwatani, Njoro Kubwa and Chechewa villages were the most affected.

Taveta Red Cross coordinator Joram Oranga said over 900 households were affected.

“The water is still flowing so we cannot do much now. We are waiting for the water to stop flowing then we will know the exact number of people affected by the floods,” he said.

Women and children were forced to sleep in the cold on Friday, Saturday and Sunday after they were rendered homeless by the floods.

“I was forced to carry my four-months-old baby on my back the whole night. We have nowhere to sleep with my other four children.

"Today they could not go to school because their books and school uniforms were all washed away by the floods,” said Bahati resident Pamela Kileta.

Petro Kiriro, a farmer in Mboghonyi, Taveta Sub-County, Taita-Taveta, in his flooded banana plantation on May 8, 2017. PHOTO | LUCY MKANYIKA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The residents blamed the contractor of the Voi-Taveta highway for diverting water into their residential homes.

They said they had made numerous complaints to China City Construction Company, which they blamed for directing drainage cannals for water from Mount Kilimanjaro towards the village.

“We have lived here for many years and we had never experienced floods until the road construction started. The frustrating thing is that the contractor is not doing anything to stop this,” she said.

Residents expressed fears about outbreaks of water-borne diseases as their latrines have been submerged in water.

Hundreds of acres of banana plantations in Kimorigo were also submerged.

Farmers cannot access their flooded farms and are now staring at losses.

“I was expecting to transport bananas to Kongowea market today, but I cannot access my farm due to floods,” said a farmer, Petro Kiriro.

Mr Kiriro also said some of the bananas were ready for harvest but have been destroyed by the floods.

Taveta Sub-County administrator Catherine Zawadi said they were waiting for the Red Cross report before they know how many people had been affected by the floods.

“After we get the report we will then know what kind of help we will give them,” she said.

She said the county government had already informed the contractor of the need to divert the water elsewhere.