Bodies of KRA officials swept away by floods in Kwale recovered

Two missing bodies of two Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials whose vehicle was swept away by raging floods on Friday have been recovered along with a boda boda rider, as Coast leaders declared the situation a humanitarian crisis.

Heavy rains have been pounding the Coast for the past week, causing massive destruction of property and loss of lives and leaving hundreds of families homeless.

Kwale County Commissioner Michael Meru said a multi-agency team led by the Kenya Coast Guard Service found the three bodies, including a 23-year-old boda boda rider who drowned at the same spot, during a search on Sunday morning.

This comes as Interior Security Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo said the victims included a manager of the Lunga Lunga One Stop Border Point and his driver.

Read: DP Gachagua: 33 counties affected by El Nino rains

 "We have established from the Lunga Lunga One Stop Border Post that the occupants of the Land Cruiser were Joram Maina, the chairman of the Lunga Lunga Border Management Committee, and David Ng'ang'a," said Mr Omollo.

The two were travelling from Lunga Lunga along the Likoni-Lunga Lunga highway in Kwale on Friday night when their vehicle was swept away by the flood waters. Their vehicle, a Land Cruiser, was recovered by the rescue team on Saturday.

"On behalf of the Border Control and Coordination Committee and as its chairman, our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends at this difficult time," he added.

Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani declared a humanitarian crisis in the county and appealed to well-wishers to help with food and financial assistance.

Speaking to Nation. Africa, county government spokesperson Nicky Gitonga said data from all the county administrations showed that seven people had died in the continuous rains that have pounded the coastal county, while hundreds of homes have been destroyed.

"I could only save one thing when the floods came, either my property or my children, I chose my children and watched as everything else went down with the water, including my house," said Halima Barisa, a victim.

Ms Halima's village, Watta Hamesa, is still under water, all the mud houses have collapsed and all that remains are sticks and frames of what was once a home.

She has taken refuge with her four children at a friend's house and has been braving the biting cold and mosquitoes for two weeks.

"I sleep on a mat while my children sleep on an animal hide on the floor, we don't have mosquito nets, if we get a mosquito net for the night we will sleep well, if we don't the mosquitoes will have a good night," she said.

Two of her children have malaria and the third has been diagnosed with pneumonia.

Her biggest problem at the moment is finding medication for them, as all her sources of income have been disrupted by the rain.

"They need drugs and another one needs injections and it all costs money, I have to balance between feeding them and treating them, it hasn't been easy for me," she said.

Jane Mwangi, the representative of the Child Welfare Society of Kenya (CWSK), says the situation in Tana River is dire and more is needed than they are offering at the moment.

"We are supporting 6,000 families out of 11,000 affected families, a number we are told will grow as the situation is about to worsen, which tells you that more needs to be done urgently," said Ms Mwangi.

The organisation is distributing mattresses for breastfeeding women and children, blankets, food and motivational books for young children. 

Ms Mwangi says the motivational books are meant to keep the children from focusing on the situation, thus saving them from depression. 

However, she laments that most of the affected areas in the district may not receive the aid as they are inaccessible by road.

Local authorities have continued to appeal for more humanitarian organisations to intervene with nets and water treatment reagents to prevent disease. More than seven villages have now been abandoned by the floods and more people are moving to camps.

In Mombasa, Governor Abdulswamad Nassir has been at the frontline of the county government's efforts to help those affected by the El Niño rains. 

Several parts of the county have experienced some of the worst flooding in recent years. The worst affected areas are Kisauni (Bombolulu and parts of Utange), Jomvu (mainly Mikindani) and Nyali (Frere Town, Ziwa la Ngombe and Kadzandani).

Mombasa has been experiencing continuous heavy rains since Wednesday, causing widespread flooding across the county. According to the county government, 3,800 families have been temporarily displaced by the floods, while three deaths have been confirmed.

"These floods are caused by the El Niño weather pattern and exacerbated by various ongoing major road works that have raised the level of the roads, causing water to flow into homes. We urge KENHA to work expeditiously to resolve these issues so that normalcy can return to Mombasa residents," said the Governor. 

Among the preparations being made by the county government is the establishment of an Emergency Call Centre with a control room to coordinate the county's response to all emergencies, including fires, evacuations and medical emergencies.

So far, the county government has made adequate provision for 3,800 families.

By Cece Siago, Brian Ocharo, Winnie Atieno and Stephen Oduor