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Stop hiking food prices, Marsabit traders told as floods hit North Horr

A screengrab showing the the North Horr-Kalacha (B75) Road in Marsabit County which has been closed due to heavy rains.

By Waweru Wairimu | Friday, April 12, 2024

The floods have been occasioned by heavy downpours that have pounded the region in the last two weeks and left pastoralists counting losses after hundreds of animals were swept away.

Marsabit County Commissioner Norbert Komora has asked traders in North Horr, where more than 100 people have been stranded due to flooding, not to raise food prices, claiming that doing so will cause more hardship for the afflicted families.

A cabbage is being sold for Sh300 in the area cut off by floods that wrecked important road infrastructure, notably the Kalacha-North Horr stretch.

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"They (traders) should not take advantage of the floods to hoard and hike the price of basic commodities because that will expose the affected families to hunger," Komora said after a County Steering Group meeting that sought to formulate a plan to respond to the disaster.

The senior administrator assured that repairs to restore the damaged sections would be prioritised to ease the movement of humanitarian aid to the affected families that have been spending the night in the cold.

The national government has already provided 200 bags of rice and 100 bags of beans to cushion the affected residents.

The floods have been occasioned by heavy downpours that have pounded the region in the last two weeks and left pastoralists counting losses after hundreds of animals were swept away.

"We are working together with the county government in ensuring all the affected families receive required aid and are moved to safer grounds," he said.

Area MCA Tura Ruru urged residents in low-lying areas to move to higher grounds to prevent further losses and loss of lives. "Be vigilant and heed to precautions being provided by the government so that we protect lives and prevent the destruction of property".

Marsabit, Garissa, and Wajir are among the counties that the Kenya Red Cross has indicated would suffer flash floods following the rains being experienced in the country.

The Kenya National Highways Authority is also working to restore normal operations on the Nairobi-Garissa highway, which has been cut off by floods.