Youth trying to retrieve a vehicle from the floods. The driver escaped unhurt as he tried to cross the flooded seasonal river in Mandera town
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Three people have drowned in Mandera town since Tuesday this week while trying to cross a seasonal river flooded by heavy rainfall.
“I have witnessed locals retrieve two bodies from the raging floods but the government is doing nothing to assist,” Abdnasir Abdi, a stranded Mandera town resident, said.
Transport within the town and its outskirts has been paralyzed since Thursday afternoon after a furrow swelled due to the heavy rains.
“This valley has been here since 1963 and no single politician since then has taken initiative to build a bridge here,” said Rashid Mohamed, a taxi operator in Mandera town.
Area department of meteorological services Director Japheth Otieno asked the locals to be cautious as the large amount of water can sweep away heavy loads.
He said the overflow was as a result of heavy rainfall in Somalia and Ethiopian highlands and that the flood will persist. The river passing through Mandera town is a tributary of river Daua flowing across the Kenya-Ethiopia border.
“We had given information to the public that there will be floods this week and most probably next week and we asked those at the river bank to vacate,” Otieno said on phone.
Rescuers at the river bank blamed the county government for their misfortunes arguing that more money has been invested in meaningless projects instead of building a bridge within the town.
"We are only hearing that the governor will tarmac this road but no one is talking of building a bridge here to solve this problem,” Rashid said, also blaming the government.
The area governor cannot access his office because of the flood, a plight many residents were happy with saying it would make him understand their problem.
“I came to do some shopping before the waters started passing here in the morning but now I can’t go back to my house since it will sweep me,” Fatuma Abdi, whose house is across the swollen river said.
Locals had to pay Sh500 for a donkey cart to ferry them across the river before police lorries came to the rescue.
Papers for the ongoing KCSE exams also had to be ferried across the river by donkey-drawn carts under tight security.