Over 5,000 families displaced by floods in Mandera

The heavy rains that continue to be experienced in Mandera have displaced 5,000 families, the Kenya Red Cross has said.

Mandera North and Mandera East remain the most affected following the heavy rains that led to river Dauwa bursting its banks and flooding all nearby homesteads.

Mandera county Kenya Red Cross Society coordinator Mustafa Adan said the numbers are likely to rise as the rains continue to pound the area.

He spoke in Mandera South over the weekend when he led the distribution of non-food items to affected residents.

On Thursday last week, three people, 65-year-old Rukia Abdullahi, Feiza Abdirahman, 15, and Fawzia Ali, 15, died after they fell into a flooded ditch.

Feiza and Fawzia sat the just-concluded KCPE exam.

"In four subcounties, 4,932 households need immediate humanitarian support in terms of food and non-food items. As you can see, they have all been displaced from their homes after they got submerged,” Adan said.

He said the situation is the same in Lafey and parts of Mandera Central.

While presiding over a distribution exercise of non-food items in Mandera town, county commissioner Amos Mariba urged parents to keep a closer watch at their children during this rainy season to avoid further loss of lives.

“I want to urge parents to be aware of their children's movement during this holiday season as flooding continues to be witnessed. As a government, we will continue working closely with our partners and other stakeholders to make sure residents get the support they need during this difficult period,” he said.

On Thursday, Mandera Governor Mohamed Khalif pledged that his administration will support all the affected families with sanitation products and assorted foodstuff to cope with the situation.

He also called on partners and stakeholders to join his administration in supporting communities affected by flash floods.

The governor said the county is planning multi-sectoral interventions and all ministries will activate their contingency plans.

He disclosed that a public awareness committee will be formed to inform the members of the public about current floods and stagnant waters to avoid accidents.

"While we are deeply grateful for the good rainfall, we recognise the challenges posed by the damage to our roads and infrastructure. It is for this reason that our teams will continue closely monitoring the situation and swing into action when need be," he said.

Also affected are schools and hospitals which have been submerged disrupting learning as well as service delivery to patients.

Irrigated farmland from BP1 to Malkamari have also not been spared as they have also been submerged destroying crops, some which were ready for harvesting.

Accessibility to the markets across the subcounties has also experienced low supply of food commodities as hundreds of lorries and trucks carrying assorted livelihood items are stuck in different subcounties.

Khalalio MCA Mohamed Noor said as a leader, he can only do so much with limited resources to help affected residents.

He urged the government and well-wishers to chip in and assist in evacuating families and with food and non-food items.