Villager killed as landslide and floods drive Mombasa residents from homes

One person died at Changamwe in Mombasa while 100 families were rendered homeless after raging floods destroyed 50 houses across the county following heavy rains.

The man’s house at the Kalahari slum was flattened by a landslide triggered by the heavy rains, said Chaani assistant chief Ben Barasa.

And at Kambi Kikuyu in Kisauni, a child died from cholera attributed to the floods which has destroyed sewerlines.

Confirming the man’s death at Kalahari, Mr Barasa said the villager was trapped in his makeshift house when the landslide struck yesterday morning.

Efforts by neighbours to rescue him were thwarted by another landslide which hit the slum, causing the residents to flee for their lives.

“I received a call that there was a landslide at Kalahari slums. I rushed there to find ways of rescuing the victim,” he said.

The administrator said as they were attempting to dig through the mud to reach him, another landslide occurred which forced the rescuers to scamper for safety.

The County’s emergency team later pulled out his body which was trapped inside a mosquito net.

Mr Barasa said that the man lived alone. His body was taken to the Coast General Hospital’s mortuary.

TESTED POSITIVE

In Kisauni, County Lands Executive Francis Thoya confirmed the death of a child due to cholera.

Mr Thoya spoke to journalists at Kiembeni after he visited a section of the Kiembeni-Bamburi road that had been cut off by floods.

“The child tested positive for cholera and we suspect it is because of the rains pounding the county since last week.

“As we speak now, the county’s medical team is at Kambi Kikuyu to address the cholera outbreak,” he added and warned residents of possible increase of cholera cases due to floods.

Even as the two death cases were reported, residents across the county continued to incur loses as floods destroyed their houses and property.

More than 100 families at Sisi Kwa Sisi village at Magongo spent the night in the cold after their houses were partially submerged in water.

The road connecting Magongo Mainland and the Moi Airport Road near Bomu Hospital was flooded and virtually impassable.

Mr John Otieno, a resident of Magongo told the Nation that he woke up at night to find his utensils floating in the kitchen.

Moments later, the whole house was flooded.

“Everything was in a mess. We had to place our baby on a cupboard to sleep as we kept watch since we could no longer sleep. Water was everywhere,” he said.

He asked the county chiefs to address poor drainage in Mombasa West as the drainage system has not been working for a long time.

FOUND CHAIRS FLOATING

Sunday church services in different parts of the county were also interrupted as some churches were flooded.

Pastor Joshua Muthui, who runs a church at Sisi kwa Sisi village, went for a normal Sunday service but found the church flooded.

“We are not able to conduct a service since the church is flooded. I came in the morning only to find all the chairs floating,” he said.

There was a huge traffic jam near Bamburi stage when a matatu which was picking a passenger got stuck in a drainage line

The conductor Alexander Karisa said that they were parking to pick a passenger when he heard a loud bang as the vehicle partially landed on the drainage line.

At the Kenya Assemblies of God Church in Bamburi, worshippers were turned away and services paralysed after the church was flooded.

Transport was brought to a standstill for almost three hours at the busy Bamburi-Kiembeni road following the floods near the Bamburi KAG church.

Young men used the opportunity to make money as they used handcarts and tuktuks to ferry residents unable to wade through the flood waters.

Mr Mwinyi Badi, a resident of Bamburi said that poor planning for infrastructure was the main cause of the persistent flooding in the county.