More than 200 families in Mororo, Madogo, at the border of Tana River and Garissa counties have been affected by floods after River Tana broke its banks following heavy rains.
Fifty households, a school, a church, and a dispensary were on Sunday completely flooded and residents displaced. Another 150 households are at risk of being swept away if the rains continue.
The 50 families that have been displaced in Mororo have been moved to a playing field in Bula Baraka, Madogo. There are fears of diseases outbreak due to poor sanitation.
Journalists accompanied a team of Kenya Red Cross Society to assess the situation in Mororo and found houses, a school and a church flooded, with Mororo dispensary completely inaccessible.
At the playing field where victims went for safety, men, women and children could be seen trying to construct shelters.
Kenya Red Cross Coast regional manager Hassan Musa said on Monday he received reports from his teams on the ground that more than 200 households had been affected by floods.
“We have found houses flooded and some people have moved to safer grounds. As the Kenya Red Cross, we are going to work with the county government to provide them with shelter,” he said.
Musa said they have started registering the affected people and they are giving priority to the 50 households that have been displaced.
He said they have instructed those 150 families at risk of being swept away by floods to move to higher grounds.
“Remember these are families with young children, expectant mothers and the elderly, so we have to consider all those factors as they go to the higher grounds,” Musa said.
In Tana River county, he said, flooding normally begins in Madogo but all the water flows to Tana Delta where there are at least 20 villages with a population of more than 2,000 people who stand to be affected.
Musa urged residents along the river banks to move to safer grounds and those with farms to begin harvesting.
“River Tana has broken its banks and the water is flooding homes,” he said.
Alfon Dhulo, a landlady in Mororo village, said each time it rains, houses are flooded.
"It started flooding yesterday morning. The water made its way to my house and we were forced to remove some of our household items,” she said.
Dhulo said due to the constant flooding in the village, she has been losing tenants as they cannot withstand the inconvenience.
Tenant Safaro Abdulahi said she had gone to Garissa town to run errands and on returning, she found her house flooded.
She said her children were saved by neighbours but she lost most of her household items.
“Floods swept through our house and we lost most of our household items. My children have no clothes and we are being assisted by neighbours who have not been affected," Abdullah, a single mother, said.
She said their greatest fear is that crocodiles might invade their homes and wreak havoc.
Rehema Abdulrahman, a mother of two, said during the rainy season their houses get flooded.
“We are now forced to sleep outside as the houses are flooded,” she said.
Mororo resident Mohamed Osman said no one can access the dispensary and there are fears of waterborne diseases.
“We appeal for shelter for those who have been affected as it is raining and victims are camping at a playing field. We have children and women and the priority for now is shelter, drugs and toilets,” he said.
Luwadesa Muyi, an elder from Mororo village, thanked the Kenya Red Cross for their humanitarian aid and urged the government to help the displaced residents.
