By Peter Ochieng
The government will issue mandatory evacuation orders if need be, in order to save Kenyans from flood instigated deaths.
Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Interior and National Administration Kithure Kindiki in a statement on Wednesday said county security intelligence teams across the country, have been directed to monitor situations, with a view of ensuring mandatory is effected to save lives.
“County security and intelligence teams across the country are directed to work with county governments to monitor and report situations, and to support the interventions of stakeholders to ensure that the country mitigates against loss of human or livestock life and destruction of public or private property,” said the CS.
“Should the situation demand, the government will issue mandatory evacuation orders in specific areas in the interest of public safety.”
“The Government hereby notifies members of the public that the weather forecast for the ongoing long rains presents the potential for flooding and may require issuance of evacuation orders in various parts of the Country to secure public safety,” he added.
Kindiki said the Seven-Forks Hydro-electric Power Dams are filled up, adding that Masinga Dam, which is the first, largest and most consequential of the dams, is already spilling through the managed structural spillways.
However, the CS stated that Masinga Dam spillover does not present obvious spillover effects into the cascade dams of Kamburu, Gitaru, Kindaruma and Kiambere, in Mt. Kenya.
“This notwithstanding, any further precipitation is likely to cause the spillover to cascade to the other dams with greater flooding effects being likely in the settlements contiguous to the last dam-Kiambere. In the likely event of further precipitation within the Tana River and River Thiba catchment areas in the coming days, River Tana is likely to burst its banks downstream leading to significant flooding in Garissa, the Tana Delta and Lamu Counties,” the CS noted.
In Western Kenya, Kindiki added that communities along lakes and rivers in Homa Bay, Siaya, Busia, Nyando, Nyakach, Muhoroni as well as low-lying areas in Migori, Kakamega, and Vihiga risk flooding, if the quantity of daily precipitation increases beyond the prevailing levels.
“Equally, at the risk of significant flooding are low-lying areas in Narok, Kajiado, and Mombasa as well as hilly areas traditionally prone to mudslides particularly in Makueni, Nyeri, Murang’a and West Pokot counties,” he noted.
According to Kindiki, the government has taken proactive measures to ensure public security and safety, and is prepared to mitigate any adverse effects of flooding in the country.
He said the National Disaster Operations Centre (NDOC) at the Ministry of Interior and National Administration, has reconvened the Multi-Agency Disaster Management Team which was established during the 2023 El-Nino rains, so as to ensure a coordinated, whole of government approach to monitoring the current situation and organizing government response programmes.
The Kenya Red Cross Society reports that dozens have been killed while thousands have been left homeless, owing to floods caused by heavy downpour across the country.