• Road at Timboni which links Watamu to Gede is completely inaccessible.
• Most affected are motorists, Boda Boda operators, business people and hoteliers who use the road daily.
A major crisis has hit Watamu in Kilifi county after the main road to the resort town was blocked following heavy rain.
The road at Timboni which links Watamu with Gede is completely inaccessible, forcing motorists and other road users to risk in the storm water that has flooded the area due to poor drainage.
Businesses along the area have completely been shut down as houses are flooeded.
Residents say the problem has been there for many years and wondered why the authorities do not take action to ensure a smooth flow of water.
Journalists toured the area on Saturday and came face to face with the disaster that has left hundreds of businesses making losses.
School children could be seen wading through the water to reach home.
Some of the businesses cannot be accessed. It’s in the same road thousands of local and international tourists use to access the resort town of Watamu.
Those most affected are motorists, Boda Boda operators, business people and hoteliers who use the road daily.
Brian Malonga, the owner of Red Lion bar and restaurant, said he may be forced to close business as clients are no longer visiting his popular joint.
Speaking at Timboni, he said the problem has been experienced for the last four years since he came to Watamu and wondered why the authorities were taking no action.
Malonga said most businesses were closed because they could not be accessed by clients.
The situation is a major health hazard as there are risks of an outbreak of water-borne diseases.
Ahmed Bwanafai, a representative of Krystal bay, Papa Remo, Seven islands resort, said his boss has been paying tax and will continue doing so but the current situation has affecting their business.
“We are appealing to the government to check on this. Governor Amason Kingi should come to clear this mess. This road is the gateway to Watamu and all tourists pass through here,” he said.
Mwanafai said soon there will be arrivals of foreign tourists in the resort town and if the situation won’t change it would be bad for the tourism sector.
Samuel Barisa, a boda boda operator, said they have been badly affected by the flooding.
Esther Telewa, a business woman in Watamu, said her vehicle got stuck in the flooded area and she had to incur costs to hire youths and call a mechanic to repair it.