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Why Garissa flood victims refused to leave the danger zone
A man and his children, displaced by floods in Garissa County, take cover from the scorching sun in a makeshift shelter amidst the threat of the raging Tana River.
What you need to know:
- The current flooding has disrupted daily life in areas along the River Tana in Garissa and Tana River counties.
- According to the Red Cross, several camps located in schools have been closed to enable uninterrupted learning.
On the night of April 28, 2026, Mzee Issa Malio Salakole,77, a resident of Ziwani village along the river Tana in Garissa town, was awoken by the sound of clinking utensils in his house.
“The waters started flowing into my house at about 3am while I was asleep. We were woken by chickens jumping for safety. I was shocked to find all the utensils floating in the house,” he said.
Mzee Salakole says the majority of residents rely on farming along the river, and now all their farms are submerged.
A woman constructs her temporary shelter at an IDP camp on May 8, 2026. Hundreds of residents of Garissa town living along river Tana have been displaced by floods.
“I have lost all my crop on the farm. Most of my household were swept away by the floodwaters, including my grandchildren’s bedding,” he said.
He admits that he had received plenty of warnings about the flooding situation in the area after the government announced plans to release water from the Seven Forks dams.
“We were asked to move to higher ground, but the waters came as a surprise before I could move. The announcement never told us when the situation would worsen,” he said.
Mzee Salakole is now appealing for relief support for the hundreds of people in the camps.
“We don’t have any food because our crops were not harvested when the floods hit. The little food we had stored has been destroyed by flooding,” he said.
Speaking at the Farmers Training College in Garissa town, Mzee Salakole said that children in the camps are at risk of developing diseases.
“There are clouds of mosquitoes in these camps. We are at risk of contracting diseases, and our children are already suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting,” he said.
“We need mosquito nets. We are already suffering from dengue fever,” he added.
The national and county governments had planned to move families living alongside the River Tana to safer ground, but this failed when the locals ignored it.
They opposed the plan because there were no government services in the area to which they were being moved.
Boats provide public transport between Madogo town in Tana River and Garissa on May 6, 2024.
“We were asked to move to the Chuma Mrefu area on the outskirts of Madogo town, but there were no security forces, schools or hospitals. Our own chief was killed in that area, leaving us feeling vulnerable and insecure,” said Mzee Salakole.
Ms Jane Habona Dhoyo said that, just like Mzee Salakole, moving to safer ground was not well planned.
“We were never guaranteed security in the new settlement. We were simply told to move to the new settlement, which had nothing, including a police station, a school or a hospital. We came back here because our farms are here,” she said.
The current flooding has disrupted daily life in areas along the River Tana in Garissa and Tana River counties.
“Our children are not going to school because some of them lost their uniforms in the flooding. We have no money to pay for their school supplies because our sources of income have been flooded,” she said.
Ms Dhoyo said that selling charcoal in the camps is now their only source of income.
“We are suffering here. We need new tents to protect us from the rain and mosquito nets to prevent disease,” she said.
At Bukayu village, another settlement affected by floods, Mr Abubakar Mohamed Ali, a village elder, said the area has been experiencing floods since April 28, 2026.
“We have been moving from our homes since April 28, 2026. The number of people being displaced is increasing daily since the water levels continue rising,” he said.
According to the village elder, those displaced are lacking food and other essential items to support them in the camps.
“We are appealing to well-wishers and the government to come forward and save our lives and our children. We need food and other items to rebuild our lives,” he said.
Affected by floods
During his surprise visit to Garissa on Thursday, Special Programmes CS Geoffrey Ruku said the government was finalising a plan to support all its citizens affected by floods.
“We are getting ready to support all those affected with floods and the government is sending in relief foods and other items including food and non-food items,” CS Ruku said.
The CS revealed that the national government was planning to start compensating all people affected by floods in the country.
“We have some things we are putting in place so that we can compensate all those affected with floods but at the moment we are sending in relief food,” he said.
Speaking to Nation, Mr Daudi Ahmed, Garissa County Red Cross coordinator, said the county has three camps housing locals who have been displaced by flooding.
“The floods are due to overflow in the upstream dams, which has displaced more than 2,000 families. We are providing the IDPs with food and non-food items,” he said.
According to the Red Cross, several camps located in schools have been closed to enable uninterrupted learning.
Residents being ferried on a boat on a flooded Nairobi-Garissa road at Modogo in Tana River County on May 17, 2024.
“We have been carrying out rescue missions on farms where workers have been found unexpectedly in areas of Saka, Balambala and Township,” he said.
Mr Ahmed urged families living near the river to move to higher ground as the water level continues to rise.
Ms Hadija Swale Mohamed, another victim of the floods, described life in the IDP camp as harrowing.
“We don't have basic amenities like toilets in our camp at the moment. It is very difficult when you need to relieve yourself because there are no toilets. Our tents are worn out and torn,” she said.
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