Military choppers deployed to rescue 3,000 Kilifi flood victims

The government has deployed helicopters to rescue more than 18,000 people affected by floods in Kilifi County after River Sabaki broke its banks following the heavy downpour experienced upstream.

On Thursday, the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) joined police, the county government, Kenya Red Cross Society and other humanitarian organisations to rescue more than 3,000 people who had been trapped by floods in Garashi and Kakuyuni wards.

KDF said on Friday that rapid response team of the Kenya Air Force and divers from the Kenya Navy rescued about 1,000 people since Thursday.

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi, County Secretary Anold Mkare and Chief Officer Adan Mohamed also visited the affected families and gave them non-food stuffs.

The governor urged residents living along River Sabaki to move to higher grounds.

He proposed that dams be built along the river to tap excess water during rainy seasons to avoid flooding.

When the Nation visited the flood-hit areas of Garashi, the KDF had already dispatched two helicopters and divers to assist in the rescue mission.

Mrs Josephine Charo, a resident of Singwaya, said she narrowly escaped death when water flooded her homestead sweeping away everything.

She said the water started flooding their village at around 1pm and they were forced to abandon their homes.

“We never thought that the water could rise this much until some of the houses started caving in,” she added.

Mrs Charo said some people were injured while escaping the floods. She added that they are now in need of food, clothing and clean drinking water.

Mr Cosmas Mamani, an official of Action Aid based in Garashi, said an entire village and a shopping centre were also submerged by floods.

At the same time, Coast Regional Police Commander Noah Mwivanda said that at least 308 families have been rescued in Tana River and Kilifi counties which have been mostly affected by the floods.

“In Tana River County, areas of Gamba, Tana Delta Region, Garsen [and] parts of Malindi, Sabaki River and Galana Kulalu in Kilifi County are the most affected. The rescue mission has been very successful; we are conducting this in collaboration with the National Police Service, Kenya Air Force, Kenya Red cross and divers from the Kenya Navy,” Mr Mwivanda said.

Speaking in Mombasa, Mr Mwivanda said that the rescue teams are still searching for more people who may have been affected and moving them to higher grounds.

He said that they have also been able to move food supplies to the rescued families.

Mr Mwivanda said that most of the roads in Tana River and Kilifi counties have been rendered impassable and that the Kenya Rural Roads Authority personnel are on the ground to start repair works once the water levels subside.

Additional reporting by Agewa Magut