Normalcy returns as Garissa residents affected by floods go back home

Residents of Garissa who were affected by flash floods have started going back to their homes.

The areas affected by floods following River Tana bursting its banks include Bula Vumbi, Bula Nyuki, Bula Sheikh, Bula Punda, Bula Kamor, Windsor, Bakuyu and Ziwani.

According to the Kenya Red Cross, 34,000 people were affected by the floods in Garissa township and were spread in 12 IDP camps.

At least 14 people lost their lives at Kona Punda along the Garissa-Madogo road after a boat capsized.

A spot check of the affected areas showed residents cleaning and carrying out repairs at their homes and businesses where the floodwaters had subsided.

Business premises and places of worship had become inaccessible.

Chege Mwaura a resident of Windsor camp that was one of the most affected was busy cleaning his shop.

He said he incurred losses wondering how he will recover.

"I incurred heavy loses and destruction of property. I lost property worth Sh500,000. This is the second time in five months that I am counting this type of loss,” he said.

He added: “The most unfortunate part is that the government is not talking about compensating me. The only thing I heard them talking about is compensating farmers whose crops were washed away.”

Ben Marangu, chairman of the Winsor residential area, said the losses ran into millions of shillings.

"This commercial street was busy with people, but today it is deserted, with only a few traders coming to clean and repair their business premises. The majority of families are still in IDP camps as their houses are still filled with water and sticky mud," said Marangu, who runs a pool game business.

He said before the heavy rain, he earned about Sh3,000 a day, but that this was no longer the case as most Winsor residents moved.

"Most of my customers were police officers from the nearby Garissa police station and youth from Garissa town who are fans of the pool game," he said.

He appealed to the national and county governments to support small business owners affected by the floods.

Most of the traders in the area were yet to reopen their businesses, but resident Abdikadir Yussuf was hopeful that vibrancy would soon return.

"Once the floodwaters fully subside, this street will come to life again. People are still counting losses and repairing their structures," he said.

Another trader Ibrahim Hassan who has a wholesale shop along the Garissa-Nairobi highway said his shop has remained inaccessible for close to three weeks.

“Is its regrettable that in this day and age we are still experiencing this.  Infrastructure development is a key ingredient for any country that wishes to develop, unfortunately our government always has its priorities wrong,” he said.

Two weeks ago, during his Garissa visit to assess the flood situation, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said the government is looking into long term solutions to the flooding crisis affecting Garissa and Tana River counties.

The DP further revealed plans to invest Sh1.2 billion to construct a new bridge along the Garissa-Nairobi highway.