Larry Madowo Walks Through Flooded Mathare Slum, Sympathies with Residents Rendered Homeless

 

Residents of informal settlements, such as those in Mathare and Githurai, have been forced from their homes, with tragic fatalities reported. CNN’s International Correspondent Larry Madowo encountered the devastating impact of the floods firsthand in Mabatini, Mathare. Many residents have been rendered homeless as their dwellings succumbed to the deluge. In a video, he was seen wading through ankle-deep water on a submerged basketball court in Mathare, expressing solidarity with the affected community. . The footage also shows residents sifting through the rubble of their collapsed homes in search of salvageable belongings. "It has been almost 16 hours since the flooding began, but other parts of Mabatini are in much worse condition. Before we got here, full bodies were removed from there, and they don't know how many more people are still buried under their homes. Where we're standing used to be somebody's house. All that's left is around it. I have never seen something like this. So what people are doing over there is trying to scavenge everything they own probably left under there. You see some wood they're trying to scavenge the iron sheets. They can probably resell them rebuilds again across Mabatini. They've also been able to find some survivors of the flooding and some bodies. In the absence of an ambulance or any kind of search and rescue team, the community is coming together to help," Madowo said. 

by  Brian Ajon