Urgent helicopter rescue needed: Several families trapped in Garissa County cry for help

More than 60 farmers and farm laborers, trapped in marooned farms along the River Tana in Garissa County, are urgently appealing for helicopter rescue mission following extreme flash floods from the swollen river. Mohamud Ali Bilal, the chairman of Wathajir Farm in Raya, just 10 km from Garissa town, stated that 21 farm laborers and their families are trapped after the river burst its banks.

In an interview with The Eastleigh Voice, the chairman reported a similar situation on neighboring farms in Lagdera and Aloley, where both farm owners and laborers are in a perilous situation. "I spoke to my farm worker, Wekesa, and he was crying for help. Together with others, they were on top of trees, fearing to be swept away by the crocodile-infested raging floods," said the farm chairman. He urgently called for a rescue mission to avert potential loss of lives.

The chairman confirmed that relatives of the trapped individuals were camping at Raya Police Station, requesting the police to coordinate with the Red Cross Society and the Military for helicopter assistance. He mentioned that he had mobilised volunteers from the local community, but the raging floods were too dangerous, and only motorboats, canoes, and helicopters could manage the dire situation.

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He noted that the water level was higher compared to the river floods experienced three weeks ago when the Tana River burst its banks. Bilal suspects that the Kenya hydroelectric power stations might have released water from the dams due to the heavy El Nino rains.

In addition to the farm-related crisis, more families in Garissa town were displaced today due to the fresh river floods. Ali Yunis Osman, a displaced resident of Bulla Vumbi, expressed that the current river floods were more severe than before. "Some of us who were not affected by the river floods that impacted many in Garissa town three weeks ago are today displaced and joining the crowded Garissa town IDP camps," said Ali.

Ali, along with other affected neighbors, moved from their flooded residential houses to the Bulla ADC IDP camp, created three weeks ago as river floods displaced thousands of families in Bulla Sheikh, Kamor, Winsor, Vumbi, Bakuyu, and Bulla Nyuki in Garissa township. The fresh floods today will increase the number of displaced families already camping in eight centers within Garissa town.