Mandera Governor appeals for help as supplies run out

Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif has appealed for help to mitigate the devastating effect of floods in the county.

This comes amid fears that the county is fast running out of essential supplies after roads were cut off by the heavy rains.

Fuel tankers are unable to access the county forcing petrol stations to ration the commodity.

Mandera is one of the counties in Northern region bearing the brunt of the flash floods caused by El Nino rains.

Khalif said the magnitude of the damage is more than the county can handle.

He has urged the national government and partners to support in emergency response and distribution of relief items.

“We are currently running out of supplies such as fuel. Petrol stations have started to ration fuel commodities ,” Khalif said.

“You can imagine what will happen to our hospitals when we completely run out of fuel. How will we do operations in theatres? A blackout will be a total disaster," he said.

He said supply of medicine and other medical supplies to health facilities has also been a challenge.

The governor said referral of patients to other hospitals has been affected after ambulances got stuck in the muddy roads.

“We are worried of waterborne and vector diseases. Many pit latrines have been submerged causing contamination of water," Khalif said.

Last week, Action against Hunger, an NGO which has been at the forefront of emergency response in Isiolo and Mandera raised concern over an outbreak of diarrhoea among children below five years.

The NGO said 34,845 families had been affected by floods in Mandera after Dawabroke River broke its banks.

“So far, seven people have died in the flooding in Mandera, and there have been reports of gender-based violence among those displaced,” it said.

On Wednesday, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights urged the government to put more effort in El Nino mitigation.

The commission said response at both national and county level had not matched the worsening situation.

"The commission regrets that the response by governments at both levels has not matched the surging situation, which has regrettably led to the loss of 52 lives and displacement of 56,000 others so far as per media reports," chairperson Roseline Odede said.

She said the Constitution mandates both national and county governments to undertake disaster management initiatives.