The first batch of houses being built for the 81,000 flood victims in Tana River will be ready for occupation by December 31, the Red Cross has said.
The construction was initiated by the government and is being implemented by the Red Cross in partnership with the county government.
The aim is to resettle flood victims on safe grounds. Some 1,467 houses are 60 per cent complete. Beneficiaries are residents living in areas which are prone to floods.
Journalists on Thursday toured several villages including Bandi, Dumi A and Handaraku and found construction ongoing.
The beneficiaries cited challenges, saying the have only received the first tranche of funds from the Red Cross. The victims were to receive funds in three phases beginning with Sh22,977 for buying poles, labour and other building materials.
There was to be a second tranche of Sh18,000 for roofing and plastering and a final Sh20,950 for finishing purposes.
The residents said they were waiting for the second tranche to pay debts including those of iron sheets.
Red Cross is targeting 1,811 households in the first batch built for those able to return to their homesteads.
Gerald Bombe, the Kenya Red Cross coordinator in charge if Tana River county said the process was on curse. He said the money to beneficiaries was to be deposited to their M-Pesa accounts by Friday.
Bombe said cited lack of land as a challenge in resettling other victims who were cannot return to their homes. Tana River has vast land but most of the safe areas belong to private ranches.
Speaking at Handaraku, Bombe said they are working in partnership with the county government and National Drought Management Authority to obtain land where the victims will be permanently resettled.
He said 2018 floods were the worst, directly affecting more than 81,000 families. Another 15,000 households were indirectly affected.
Red Cross put up 71 camps for IDP. Fifty three were in Tana Delta, the region worst hit by the floods.
The victims were divided into two groups of those completely swept away and those slightly affected.
“In areas with frequent flooding, we advised residents to move to new areas. Currently, we are dealing with those from minor floods areas,” Bombe said.
Dimi A village chairman Salim FGafo said of 100 households targeted, 44 were complete.