The National government has come to the aid of hundreds of households that were recently displaced by flash floods in Marsabit County.
Marsabit Acting County Commissioner Mr. David Saruni also assured the residents that those who lost essential documents in the deluge would be assisted to get replacements.
Saruni asked those who lost their official documents like identity cards, academic credentials, birth and death certificates to report to offices of the relevant departments for assistance.
Through the Ministry of ASALs and Special Programs, the government has distributed 8 metric tons of an assortment of food to 3,600 households affected by the floods across the country with the majority being found in Moyale constituency.
The administrator said that the assessment of both the drought and flooding situation was an ongoing process to ensure that no needy case was left out as the government had put in place mechanisms to ease suffering of the affected.
He reminded the residents to boil drinking water and observe high standards of hygiene at the home level in order to safeguard themselves against water borne diseases like cholera.
The government through the Department of Public Health is distributing aqua tabs and PUR sachets for water treatment to the residents.
Exhausters have also been deployed by the Marsabit County government to the areas affected by floods to help in draining latrines that are filled with water.
The Ag CC said that the County Steering Group (CSG) would carry out an assessment on how best such water could be tapped and used for development in future.
“The CSG will be looking into the possibility of developing water pans and dams where rain water would be directed to the benefit of the community,” he said, adding that such water could be used in both domestic and farming purposes.
Each of the targeted households would receive 22 kilograms of food which include cooking oil and rice among other items.
According to the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), the prolonged drought and the flash floods that have led to displacement of people in parts of the County that had not experienced flooding before was as a result of climate change.
NDMA’s County Communication officer Mr. John Ougo said the government has 309,176 people in the list of its famine afflicted residents in Marsabit who have been receiving assistance of both food and non-food items.
Ougo said that the March–May rains as forecast by the meteorological department would be below average and that food constraints would continue to be experienced.
He noted that the residents would experience a short-term water reprieve following the downpour but that nutritional challenges against children and lactating mothers would remain.
Livestock that have survived the drought will take time to recover and yield milk while market challenges would still abound.
By Sebastian Miriti
