Isiolo: Over 1,000 families displaced by floods in need of humanitarian support

 

The residents of Ngaremara ward in Isiolo County are appealing to humanitarian organizations for additional support as they continue to grapple with the devastating impact of floods that have wreaked havoc in the region.

Over 1,000 households have been displaced from their homes due to heavy downpours, with floodwaters from Isiolo and the neighboring Meru County leaving a trail of destruction.

The displaced families have now pitched camp at Ngaremara Boys’ Secondary School which sits on a slightly higher ground, with the County Government through the department of Special Programmes issuing food and non-food items such as tents, soaps, mosquito nets, mats and blankets to help them brave the cold conditions especially at night.

Ngaremara ward MCA Peter Losu said that it was time for Non-Governmental organisations to temporarily suspend other development projects such as drilling of boreholes and construction of classrooms, and join hands with the County Government to ease the suffering of people adversely affected by floods.

He also appealed to the National Government to disburse emergency funds to the devolved governments to enable them to effectively address the plight of displaced persons.

Losu cautioned those operating bars as well those selling unlicensed liquor like chang’aa to also desist from selling the commodity when the area is facing floods, arguing that drunk people could easily be swept off by the raging floods as their judgement is impaired, making them to attempt crossing flooded rivers.

He noted that normalcy would return once the rainy season is over, therefore people should first focus on staying alive. Area residents led by Attan area manager John Echwa lauded efforts by the County Government to provide tents, mats, blankets as well as food stuffs to the displaced residents.

He however noted that the food was not enough and could only support big families for a couple of days, calling for more interventions to provide relief to the flood victims.

Karen Ekai, a resident of Ngaremara called upon both the national and county governments to come up with strategies to harvest the plenty of water which is causing havoc to residents, by establishing dams and water pans so that in future rainy seasons, the situation does not recur, and people get water for domestic use and farming later.

Sammy Legco, a youth from Ngaremara asked the government to consider digging proper trenches that will allow flood waters from the upper regions to flow seamlessly all the way to Ewaso Nyiro without passing through the residential areas.

The County Chief Officer in charge of Special Programmes Abdullahi Hassan assured the displaced persons that the Government would stand with them until the situation normalizes and they are able to go back to their homes.

He urged those who have not been affected by the floods as they live on higher grounds to exercise kindness and accommodate some of the affected household members, so that the government and other development partners can then focus on helping the remaining ones.

Apart from Ngaremara, other areas such as Dadacha Basa, Iresaboru, Malkadaka, Gafarsa, Badana and Sericho have been hardly hit by the flooding menace, and any relief supplies must be airlifted to the areas since they cannot be accessed through road.

BY Bruno Mutunga