By ALPHONCE SHIUNDU
IN SUMMARY
Though the meterological department had already issued an alert over floods in the area, the MP said the level of flooding "is not what (the residents) expected".
Bura MP Ali Wario has appealed to the government and the Kenya Red Cross to send food, drugs and blankets to victims of floods in his constituency.
Addressing journalists at Parliament's Media Centre, the MP said over 10,000 people in the constituency had been affected by the floods.
According to Mr Wario, one person, Ann Wanjiku, had died as a result of the flood waters in one of the villages.
"In some of the villages access has been limited; there are no roads; you can't get there... I appeal to the government to intervene and find a way of helping those people," said Mr Wario.
The areas affected, the MP said, are Bilbil, Matagala, Osingo, Wadessa. He said the bridge that connects Garissa to Mombasa had been washed away.
Though the meteorological department had already issued an alert over floods in the area, the MP said the level of flooding "is not what (the residents) expected".
"There's no way you can tell people on a rangeland to move. In some flooded places like Irmani, the Tana River is 40 kilometres away, but the seasonal river that passes through the area burst its banks and that is how the area got flooded," said Mr Wario.
"There has to be a kitty in that ministry to deal with these emergencies," said the MP.
He said the county governments were as at now, ill-equipped to deal with such disasters.
The Bura MP served as an assistant minister of Special Programmes during President Kibaki's first term.
He lost his seat after the 2007 elections but has now returned as Bura MP after a five-year hiatus