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Fear grips Garissa,Tana River counties as floods intensify, camp marooned

Families from Mororo in Tana River County moving to Garissa provincial Police Training Center: (Photo: Issa Hussein)

By Issa Hussein | 04 May 2024

Floodwaters from River Tana which burst its banks have also affected Galbet and Iftin wards, where institutions housing internally displaced persons have been partially marooned.

Thousands of residents in Garissa and Tana River counties are gripped by fear and panic as floodwaters from River Tana continue to rise.

Nearly 1,200 families in Mororo whose homes were submerged have been forced to evacuate, seeking refuge at the Garissa Police Training College and other Internally Displaced Persons camps in Garissa.

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Mohamed Ali, the Sala Ward Member of the County Assembly, reported that the displaced families from Mororo town moved to the Garissa Provincial Police Training Center in Garissa town following government directives issued last week in anticipation of overflow from the Masinga Dam and the intense rainfall causing floods.

"The Garissa County commissioner, Mohamed Mwabudzo, provided vehicles to evacuate them, and others who were hesitant complied after witnessing the increasing water levels," claimed the MCA.

He noted that the displaced families, estimated to be around 1,200, were overcrowded in the new camp. They joined others from Bakuyu and Ziwani of Sala Ward who were sheltering at various locations in Garissa Township.

Mohamed Guyo at Hyuga Primary School camp that has since been marooned by floodwaters. (Photo: Issa Hussein)

Mohamed appealed for support, including cash transfers, sanitation facilities, and tarpaulins to provide shelter from the ongoing rains.

A spot check by The Eastleigh Voice revealed that Kenya Red Cross officials were registering the displaced persons at the Garissa Provincial Police Training Center.

Suleiman Juma, a resident of Mororo, expressed his fear of being swept away by the raging floods on the Garissa-Nairobi highway where he had been camping since last Saturday after his home was submerged.

Floodwaters from River Tana which burst its banks have also affected Galbet and Iftin wards, where institutions housing internally displaced persons have been partially marooned.

Mohamed Guyo, 69, a father of nine who was displaced from Bulla Kamor, expressed his concern, stating, "I sought refuge here at Hyuga Girls Primary as a safer ground, but the camp is now flooded."

Hyuga Primary School camp that has since been marooned by floodwaters. (Photo: Issa Hussein)

Sections of Sankuri road in Garissa town and Shabaha village in Sankuri Sub-county have also been affected by the floods.

According to the Kenya Red Cross, 28,000 people were affected last week after the River Tana burst its banks, submerging residential houses.

The affected individuals are sheltering in 11 IDP camps located within government institutions in Garissa town.

As the floods wreak havoc in the region, KenGen has announced that the water level at Masinga Dam, Kenya's largest hydroelectric power-generating dam, has risen to the highest level ever recorded in history due to heavy rainfall in the catchment area.

The company issued a warning to communities living near dams and rivers to relocate to higher grounds to avert losses and deaths.

"We urge those living near dams and Tana River to heed the government's call and move to safer grounds," Managing Director Peter Njenga.