Thousands of Tana Delta villagers marooned in flooded homes

A major humanitarian crisis has hit a section of Tana Delta area in Tana River County where several villages remain submerged two months since the floods began.

Thousands of residents, who are completely stranded and have not received any humanitarian aid for two months now, lack food and clean water.

Some residents have managed to move to safer grounds but others are still living in submerged homes, with no assistance.

The floods waters swept away homes, including those constructed by the Kenya Red Cross.

There is already an outbreak of water-borne diseases including malaria, dysentery and locals fear there could be Cholera soon if action is not taken.

Areas worst hit include Mwanja, Odole, Samicha, Handaraku up to Sogan, among others.

So far, the area can only be accessed using canoes as the community have no boats.

Journalists managed to tour some of the villages by boat on Monday and came face to face with the disaster.

At Mwanja, a village with 350 households, only 150 families managed to voluntarily go to safer grounds.

Their homes are submerged and all crops were destroyed when the floods hit the area.

Mahmud Kuno, a resident of Mwanja, said the locals are not so lucky during both drought and floods.

Speaking at their submerged village, Kuno said they cannot move to safer grounds or relocate to another area as it will affect their livelihoods.

The area falls within the delta and is flat, which makes it vulnerable to floods during such calamities.

"When we relocate, we lose our resources and if we stay normally we suffer the consequences," he said.

During drought, he said, the freshwater from the river mixes with that of the ocean and turns salty, which normally affects crops and even animals.

He accused both county and national governments of neglecting them and not relocating them to a safer grounds in a proper manner.

Currently, they only survive on fish caught from the flooded areas.

Kipini West MCA Musa Wario, whose ward was completely affected, said the situation was worrying as the locals have no food, shelter and even health services since authorities have not bothered to respond since the disaster started.

He said those who managed to go to safer grounds had to use canoes but the rest refused to relocate, fearing to lose their properties.

Wario said they found several women and their children who are sick as there was an outbreak of malaria, but could not access health services.

"In all those areas affected, there is no government institution that has come to intervene and see how those people are surviving since the disaster hit them," he said.

The MCA said those living in the submerged villages require urgent intervention to prevent any loss of lives, especially food, freshwater, drugs and some nonfood items.

He said the local dispensaries in his entire ward had no drugs, which worsens the problem.

Wario said the water levels were rising and the situation could be worse in the next few days.

"The government should use any means to support the victims whether it's a chopper or boat as the disaster was worrying," he said.

At Odhole village, the situation was worse as the village is also submerged and over 600 people are affected.

Boba Ashako, a resident of Odhole, said their entire village is submerged and they have nowhere to stay or go to graze their cows.

"We have no doctor, the hospital is there but it's difficult to get the services, there is an outbreak of Malaria but roads are inaccessible to reach the safety zones," he said.

Hashono Abawatha, a resident of Odhole, said women were suffering since the floods as they do not have food.

She called on the government to intervene and assist them as they lost everything due to the disaster.

Dende Abdulahi, chief of Odole location, said the entire Chara location has been affected and victims are camping in three camps while others are still in the flooded areas.

He said they established camps at Darga in Konemasa while the other one is at Marafa and Odhole Primary School.

The chief said the situation is worse and called on humanitarian organisations and the government to come in and save the victims.

"We urgently need food and nonfood items, these locals have many challenges, the farms were swept away while animals were transferred," he said.

At Mandingo area, more than 200 out of the 350 floods victims from Handaraku were forced to camp there for safety after their homes were submerged.

Ibrahim Abdi said they are currently residing in the open at an area with mosquitoes, snakes, and hyenas.