Tana River governor threatens to withhold rescue boats from residents defying flood warnings

By  Winnie Atieno

Correspondent

Nation Media Group

Tana River Governor Dhadho Godhana has warned residents who refuse to leave flood-prone areas that the county government will not deploy boats to rescue them if they become trapped by rising floodwaters.

Mr Godhana said his administration had been urging residents to move to safer areas for the past two months and had provided building materials to facilitate their relocation, but some had ignored the warnings.

Speaking during the ongoing Innovation and Business Summit in Tana River, the governor said the county government had supplied iron sheets, timber and nails to help affected households establish homes in safer areas.

“They are still down there waiting for the floods so that we can go and rescue them using boats. Woe unto you; we will not take even a single boat to rescue those who will be caught in the floods. El Niño has been declared across the world. Tana River is the county most at risk. The warning has already been issued, but people have refused to leave,” Mr Godhana said.

He reiterated that county boats would be assigned other duties instead of being used to rescue residents who ignored the warnings and remained in areas at risk.

“You want to stay in the floods? Then fight the floods. My boats will not go to rescue people; they will be used for other activities. My boats will have important duties. It is up to you,” he warned.

The warning comes amid concerns about possible flooding along the River Tana, where heavy rainfall in the upper catchment can cause water levels to rise and inundate settlements, farms and grazing land downstream.

Water, Sanitation and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eric Mugaa recently warned that heavy rainfall around the Aberdares and Mount Kenya could increase inflows into the River Tana and the Seven Forks dams, raising the risk of flooding in Tana River and Garissa counties.

“Our people in Tana River, Garissa and the lower belt of the Tana catchment, which receives a lot of rainfall because of the Aberdares and Mt Kenya, one thing that is inevitable, if the rains are predicted as they are, is our Seven Forks will spill. Spillage is good; it protects the dams from being swept off,” Mr Mugaa said.

Mr Mugaa said the dams were designed to store large volumes of water, but excess water must be released through spillways when the reservoirs approach capacity.

“If the rains occur as forecast, it is inevitable that the Seven Forks dams will spill. Spillage is good because it protects the dams from being swept away,” he said.

However, he said the river channel downstream might not be wide enough to accommodate the increased volume of water.

“What causes flooding is that the watercourse is too narrow to accommodate the volume. Once the water breaks the banks, you cannot control it; it goes anywhere,” Mr Mugaa said.

The Government is pursuing measures to divert some of the river’s water and improve storage capacity to manage excess flows, he said.

Mr Mugaa also urged residents in low-lying areas of Tana River and Garissa counties to prepare to move to higher ground if the rains materialise as forecast.

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