Jinja Ibrahim is incensed as he wades through his flooded house in Barsheba Phase 5.
He is among thousands of victims of the poor drainage system in Mombasa that has allowed flash floods to get into residential houses as heavy rains continue to pound the Coastal city.
The water levels have reached Ibrahim’s stomach height. He is about 6'7 tall.
“I have called the county rescue team but they have told me they have several emergencies and cannot come here now. It is like they are overwhelmed,” Ibrahim told the Star on Tuesday.
The situation is even direr for persons with disabilities owing to the crutches or any other walking aids they use.
Mombasa County Disability Leaders Forum deputy chair Abdulaziz Shekue said PWDs are limited in movement and so cannot earn the day’s wages.
“I have not been able to get out of my house for the last three days. This environment for PWDs like myself is always difficult. I have not made any money during that time,” Shekue said.
He said the special shoes provided for PWDs are made of leather and cannot be allowed to be submerged in water.
“This is because we cannot see where the crutches land in the water. Otherwise, we will lose balance and fall. So, when it rains, we have to remain indoors until the flash floods subside,” he told the Star at his home in Barsheba Phase 5.
He said residents are exposed to health risks because sewage water mixes with the flash floods which get into the residential houses.
The most affected areas include Junda, Mshomoroni, Kiembeni, Kongowea, Nyali Links Road, Likoni, Shanzu and Bombolulu among others.
Commuters in Bamburi had to walk long distances as matatus could not operate on flooded roads.
“At times like these, our vehicles get damaged easily. So, because we cannot raise the fares, most of us prefer not to operate until the floods subside,” matatu operator Said Mwachonda said.
The rains are, however, a blessing in disguise for ‘hustlers’ who take the opportunity to earn some cash by carrying passengers across the floods.
Simon Muteki says the last time the floods came he earned Sh3,100 from carrying people across flooded areas.
“This is the second day here at Utange and I have already made Sh1,050. I hope it continues like this,” Muteki said.
County communication director Richard Chacha said they have activated the county disaster team who are now going around unblocking drainages.
“We have deployed water boozers to suck waters from some of the flooded areas especially in Kisauni and Nyali,” Chacha told the Star on the phone.
The county is now collecting data on all the persons displaced by the floods to determine the next course of action.
But this is not the first time there are floods in Mombasa.
The situation is always like that whenever there are heavy rains. Why?
Chacha said the county is sometimes overwhelmed whenever there are excessive rains.
He also blamed the residents whom he accused of contributing to the blocking of the drainage system by littering.
The situation would be much easier to mitigate if all residents took responsibility and managed their garbage better, he said.
Heavy rains, he added, are natural disasters that the county can do little to stop when mother nature strikes.
“Even in Japan and other developed countries, whenever the rains are too much, there are floods. In Mombasa, when there is too much rain, it gets beyond our control."
He said if the situation persists, they may call for intervention from the National Youth Service.
Edited by R.Wamochie
