Over 80,000 households, 33 counties affected by El Nino rains
Some of the worst affected counties include Mombasa, Garissa, Tana River, Makueni, Marsabit, Kilifi, Kwale, Meru, Isiolo, Turkana, Samburu, Wajir, Homa Bay and Busia.
The government has said the counties experiencing El Nino rains have risen from 19 to 33 over the past week.
In a statement issued Saturday by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua regarding the flood situation in Kenya, some of the worst affected counties include Mombasa, Garissa, Tana River, Makueni, Marsabit, Kilifi, Kwale, Meru, Isiolo, Turkana, Samburu, Wajir, Homa Bay and Busia.
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"At least 80,000 households across the country have been negatively affected - mainly displacements or marooned - with numbers rising every day," Gachagua said.
"Cases of fatalities and missing persons have been reported."
The DP has said the situation has continued to threaten lives and that multi-agency teams drawn from government agencies, county governments and partners are responding in various ways to mitigate the negative impact of the El Nino rains.
"Government helicopters are on joint rescue missions of marooned families, distribution of humanitarian aid including food and non-food items, medical supplies, among others," Gachagua said.
"With the Command Centre at the Kenya Defence Headquarters, joint constant aerial and, on land surveillance for monitoring of the situation and identify emergency areas of intervention."
Surveillance
The government said surveillance on human and zoonotic diseases to avoid possible outbreaks like cholera and other hygiene-related infections and that funds have been allocated for the repair of destroyed infrastructure to improve ground response.
Gachagua said weather predictions point to prolonged rains extending into December and into the first Quarter of 2024.
The DP called on counties to allocate and release funds to complement the mitigation efforts of the National Government.
"We call on our people living in low-lying and land-slide-prone areas to move to safer grounds and stay on high alert and avoid taking risks such as driving or walking into flood waters," the DP said.
Earlier this week, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said the ongoing El Nino rains in Kenya had claimed 46 lives, with thousands more displaced by floods.
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