A Kenyan town faces life underwater

Issued on: 05/10/2024 – 11:39Modified: 05/10/2024 – 11:37

5 minutes

The flood had claimed his livelihood, his home and his wife, leaving the 32-year-old heartbroken as he reflected on what remained of his life.

“It was like the world was coming to an end,” he told AFP, his forehead resting on the palm of his hand.

“The water kept rising and rising and swallowed everything.”

The eastern Kenyan town of Garissa is no stranger to rain-related disasters, but its residents told AFP the current monsoon has caused a catastrophic level of flooding that has shocked them.

Kenya is grappling with floods that have killed 257 people across the East African nation, following weeks of torrential rains that scientists have linked to the El Niño climate phenomenon.

Nearly 55,000 homes have been displaced and the rains submerged entire towns, blocked roads and hampered the delivery of essential goods.

The downpour flooded five dams, causing huge overflows downstream in Garissa, the Tana River and Lamu, a region home to more than 1.5 million people.

“We haven’t seen much rain, but our biggest problem is living downstream,” said Mwanajuma Raha, whose house was leveled by the deluge that also washed away all his possessions.

Relentless

Suleiman Vuya Abdulahi, 27, has been displaced seven times by floods, even when he was just a baby.

But nothing prepared the soft-spoken, tired brown-eyed farmer for this year’s disaster.

Abandoned and unable to swim, he spent days on a rooftop, barely above the water, anxiously waiting for help as he watched the rains overtake the land.

Displaced for three months in November, he had barely picked up the pieces of his life when the monsoons forced him to leave his home again.

“We, ordinary citizens, are really fighting,” he told AFP.

Some people refuse to leave their homes for fear of seeing them looted, choosing to live on rooftops and wading or swimming to nearby roads when they need food supplies.

The main road to Garissa, a key trading hub near the border with Somalia, has been cut, forcing all deliveries to be made by air or boat and causing prices to soar.

“We have never seen anything like this in our region,” said 64-year-old village elder Boya Ali Karani, who is now sleeping on the roadside after rains destroyed his house.

No food, no sleep

At the makeshift dock outside Garissa, motor boats, which used to ferry tourists on Lake Naivasha more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) away, are in constant demand to transport people and supply desperately needed food.

But the journey can be deadly, as an overcrowded passenger ship capsized last month. Seven bodies have been recovered, including that of a schoolgirl. A dozen people are still missing.

Boatman Mohamed Mansur Ali, 36, who took part in the rescue operation, said the work was “very difficult”.

“First, you don’t sleep at all and it’s very exhausting because you arrive at work at 6:00 a.m. and finish at 6:00 p.m.,” he explains to AFP.

“You could be resting and then get a call about a patient who needs to go to the hospital.”

Authorities have imposed some restrictions since the accident, with the marina stationed at the dock to ensure all passengers are wearing a life jacket and that the boats are not overloaded.

There are fears the crisis could worsen as the rains continue, with the massive Masinga Dam in central Kenya already at “historic” levels.

Daud Ahmed Shalle, Kenya Red Cross regional coordinator, said the situation was “terrible” in the 11 camps housing nearly 6,500 families in Garissa county.

“We have many people in the fields whose basic need, or the most urgent need right now, is the lack of food,” he told AFP.

Activists have called for more funding to address the crisis, noting that the most affected communities contribute the least to extreme weather events.

“The impact of climate change on communities is irreversible and will only get worse, leading to a continued increase in global demand for humanitarian assistance,” said Melaku Yirga, Eastern and Southern Africa regional director at US development charity Mercy. Corps.

© 2024 AFP