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Amid floods, government says victims' welfare a top priority

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The organisers said they were keen to bring back mass weddings following a decline accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The government is focused on reconstruction and rehabilitation in its efforts to assist residents of flood-affected counties.

The Interior ministry said this on Monday, noting that the welfare of these people remains a priority.

This came after Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo met with the Secretariat of the National Flood Emergency and Disaster Response Command Center.

He received a detailed report following the post-assessment of the impact of El Nino rains, the goal being to improve emergency response and coordination.

Earlier, the ministry noted that the El Nino flood emergency threat was subsiding hence the need to ensure "safe drinking water and maintaining hygiene, particularly around camps and homesteads".

It added that National Government Administrative Officers had been tasked with gathering immediate relief requirements for schools as they prepared to reopen for the first term of the year.

According to the World Meteorlogical Organization, the El Nino event is expected to last until April 2024, "influencing weather patterns and contributing to a further spike in temperatures both on land and in the ocean". For countries like Kenya, these weather patterns include drought and floods.

Meanwhile, heavy rains have continued to pound many parts of the country, with the forecast for January 15-21 showing that the downpour will continue.

In its forecast for the week, the Kenya Met Department said rainfall is expected in Central Highlands including Nairobi, the Lake Victoria Basin, Western, Central and Southern Rift Valley, the Southeastern Lowlands and the Coastal region.

The Met added that part of the Northwest and Northeast were also likely to receive rainfall, and that isolated storms and heavy rains were likely in the South Rift Valley, the Southeast Lowlands, the Central Highlands and South Coast.

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