This archive report was first published on 16 May 2020.
Published on May 16, 2020, a devastating flood in Tana Delta has left over 7,000 residents of Kipini West without homes.
Residents, who had moved from lower lands threatened by floods three months ago, are now forced to stay in clusters in the few available areas left, throwing caution to the wind in observing rules set in place like social distancing.
One house can hold up to four families, and with the roads cut off, only choppers and boats can access the area.
Local leaders have called for a lasting solution and ease the suffering of the affected residents, citing climate change as the main cause of the flooding.
Speakers at a conference of local professionals in Garsen Town last year asked the national government to erect dykes in areas prone to floods, with Garsen MP Ali Guyo accusing the national government of remaining silent whenever floods affect the county.
“Why can’t the government build dykes in Tana Delta the same way it did in Budalang’i to stop or at least minimise the effects of floods? Our people should not be allowed to suffer like this year in, year out,” he said.
