Quick thinking by Kenyan officials may have saved hundreds of lives after the navy, police and ports authority instituted emergency precautions before tsunamis hit the east African coast. The official death toll in eastern Africa stood at 123 last night but is expected to rise significantly once rescue workers reach isolated parts of Somalia, where entire towns and villages are said to have been submerged. Only three people died in Kenya, one of whom is believed to be a western tourist, according to the Kenya Ports Authority. Kenya was able to react before disaster struck, an extraordinary fact given the reputation for inefficiency that most public services in the country have. "Our marine specialists were monitoring satellite images from the Indian Ocean so we knew we were likely to feel the after-effects," said a spokesman for the Kenyan navy. "We were then able to co-ordinate with the police, and the ports and harbours."
| They had a little more lead time to get the word out, but still they did a good job. |
An emergency centre, mobilised in the past for oil spills and ferry disasters, was quickly manned and radio messages were sent out to commercial fishing vessels and ships off the coast. "Our first priority was to get all boats out at sea into port," said Captain Twalib Hamisi, the ports authority's chief of operations. "Many of the smaller fishing boats don't have radios but we were able to get a word-of-mouth chain going both north and south." The main concern for officials was not so much from tsunamis, but from abnormal currents that would have sucked swimmers and boats out to sea. Three-metre waves did crash over beaches, destroying properties and boats. Hippopotamuses in inland rivers were dragged eight kilometres out to sea. The police force was also mobilised, clearing more than 10,000 people off public beaches on Boxing Day, the busiest day of the year when Kenyans from around the country flock to the coast. Many, fortified by alcohol and fuelled by scepticism, refused to leave until they were cajoled by riot police. |