KDF, Police Officers on Standby in 27 Counties as El Nino Crisis Intensifies
On Monday, the Interior Ministry provided reassurance that Kenya Defence Forces and National Police Service (NPS) personnel were prepared to deploy in the most severely impacted regions by the persistent heavy rainfall.
The Ministry, under the leadership of Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki, disclosed in a statement that whenever the need arises, the officers will be notified to rescue individuals in the counties afflicted by the flooding.
Additionally, in counties afflicted by flooding, the rescue teams will assist in the distribution of food and non-food items to affected communities and evacuation centers.
The counties designated for this purpose consist of those situated in the Lake Victoria Basin, Highlands West of the Rift Valley, as well as the regions of the Central and South Rift Valleys.
Samburu and Turkana counties are classified as being susceptible to inundation in the North Western region.
Soldiers are on high alert in the following areas east of the Rift Valley: Nyandarua, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, Murang’a, Kiambu, Laikipia East, Meru, Embu, Tharaka Nithi, and Nairobi.
Police assistance will be extended to the counties of Kitui, Makueni, Machakos, Taita Taveta, and Kajiado in the South-Eastern Lowlands, and Mandera, Marsabit, Wajir, Garissa, and Isiolo in the North-Eastern region.
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Coastal counties Kwale, Mombasa, Tana River, Kilifi, and Lamu will also be incorporated into the initiative.
“Disaster response and security teams have been activated and in the short term are identifying locations that are likely to be marooned in respective flood-prone counties through aerial and ground reconnaissance,” read the statement in part.
Additionally, the Ministry disclosed that it would provide displaced individuals with tents as temporary shelter and that it was monitoring the condition of the road network in the affected regions.
Numerous communities have been displaced since the inception of the El Nino rainfall; according to estimates, more than 130 individuals have perished in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia.
Conversely, the Kenya Meteorological Department projects that the repercussions of the occurrence will persist until April 2024.
Over the following week, precipitation will probably intensify in Nairobi, Kitui, and other elevated regions.
KDF, Police Officers on Standby in 27 Counties as El Nino Crisis Intensifies