Garissa flood victims have called on the government and other partners to help them rebuild their homes.
Their chairperson Abdille Bille said most of them are returning to their destroyed homes and collapsed latrines.
“The kind of destruction we have witnessed is devastating. Over 150 pit latrines have collapsed in Bulla Sheikh alone. The same scenario is being reported in other areas,” Bille said.
“Most of the victims have lost their livelihoods and are unable to start rebuilding without help.”
According to the Kenya Red Cross, eight out of nine camps in Garissa Township have been closed after the victims returned to their homes.
Bille said the Red Cross was constructing houses for flood victims before the recent floods displaced them.
“Red Cross together with the county government and other partners should continue with the projects and extend it to other victims whose houses were submerged and destroyed recently,” he said.
The chairman also called on the department of public health to put up temporary toilets to avoid an outbreak of waterborne diseases.
“We are staring at an outbreak of cholera and other waterborne diseases if the issue is not addressed as a matter of urgency.”
He said most water pipes that were supplying the affected areas were swept away and asked the department of water to reconnect supply.
Last week, the victims camping in learning institutions claimed that school management and Education ministry officials were threatening to forcefully evict them by last Friday.
A senior education official who requested anonymity confirmed the orders claiming that many of the victims want to continue staying in camps to get relief supplies even when the flood waters in their homes have dried up.
“You cannot imagine the kind of destruction they (IDPs) have caused to the school’s infrastructure. They have polluted the environment and uprooted trees. The furniture has also been damaged. What we are saying is that the floods are long gone and they should just go back to their homes,” the official said.
Two weeks ago, deputy county commissioner Samuel Njuguna cautioned the flood victims against returning to their homes and farms until the crisis ends.
Njuguna said communities in flood-prone areas should wait for the floodwaters to completely subside before they can return and restart their lives.
Edited by R.Wamochie