A major humanitarian crisis has hit residents of Kipini West ward in Tana Delta sub-county after the area was completely cut off by floods.
Emergency response teams have approximated that over 5,000 people have been displaced and have no access to food and health services.
This followed after the only road heading to the area was cut off, making it hard for rations to be distributed in the area.
Children stand near some of the flooded houses at Handaraku village which is among the worst hit by the flooding crisis in Tana Delta, June 16, 2018. /ALPHONCE GARI
The area has also been affected by a cholera outbreak, which has been worsened by the lack of medicine at the health facilities.
Locals are forced to use herbal extracts from Neem tree leaves for their survival.
Areas worst hit by the disaster are Handaraku, Odole, Samicha, Mwanja, and Kikono, all of which have turned into an island.
Some of the
flooded house at Odole village which is among the worst hit by the disaster in Tanadelta. Victims have no access to relief food, drugs, and sanitation on June 16. Currently there is an outbreak of water borne diseases./ALPHONCE GARI
Victims, who were living in camps, were forced to return to their homes for lack of basic provisions like blankets and tents. The homes are surrounded by water.
Journalists who toured Odole and Handaraku areas on Saturday came face-to-face with the disaster, which is getting worse each day.
Locals said they have not received any support from the county or national government for the past two months since they were displaced.
The said only Red Cross supplied them with a few non-food items "which could not assist all the victims hence forcing them out of the camps."
A number of them returned to areas near their flooded homes where they have built temporary shelter.
At Odole village, which has 365 households, residents are surrounded by water and have no sanitation facilities.
Some of the
flooded house at Odole village which is among the worst hit by the disaster in Tanadelta. Victims have no access to relief food, drugs, and sanitation on June 16. Currently there is an outbreak of water borne diseases./ALPHONCE GARI
Bakari Wario Sangale - a headman at Odole, said residents are suffering and do not have any support from the authorities.
"We have not received any relief food. Up to date, there is no intervention. We need food and drugs. The dispensaries are empty," he said.
Currently, the IDPs said they are forced to buy a kilogram of unga at Sh100 due to the high costs of transporting goods to the area.
Ari Iyesa, a Handaraku village elder, said they fear that the outbreak of cholera could lead to deaths if quick action is not taken.
The affected region is not very far from the area where river Tana meets the Indian Ocean.
Area MCA Musa Wario, who was present during the tour, said he wondered where the Sh1 billion allocated by the government to assist flood victims went.
The money was to mitigate effects of floods in Tana River, Kilifi county, and Nakuru - following the Solai Dam tragedy.
He blamed both the county and national government for neglecting the flood victims in the ward.
"There is an outbreak of Malaria and typhoid. One has to travel to Oda, which is 20 kilometers away, at a cost of Sh1,600," he said.
Wario called on the government to intervene to prevent loss of lives "even if it means distributing relief food and drugs using helicopters."
The affected families are expected to stay in the flooded area for another three months as the delta is flat and ocean water level is rising daily.