Met Chief Issues Apology In DP Gachagua Briefing ‘Miscommunication’ on El Nino
The Kenya Meteorological Department has now issued a statement retracting its previous prediction that only above-average precipitation would occur, instead advising Kenyans to prepare for El Nino.
Director of the Meteorology Department Dr. David Gikungu, who was summoned by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to address the current state of rainfall in the country, expressed regret on Friday regarding the government’s miscommunication that allayed fears of El Nino, thereby causing deaths and destruction among Kenyans who were caught off guard.
However, he advised Kenyans to exercise prudence while alluding to the possibility that the El Nino precipitation could persist until the initial quarter of 2024.
“I want to point out that as initially given in the forecast, we have El Nino in this short rainy season 2023 and we do apologize for the lack of communication or miscommunication because that was a big mistake but we are sorry about that, but moving forward let us prepare ourselves for enhanced rainfall as a result of El Nino phenomena as we are in,” Dr. Gikungu stated.
DP Gachagua subsequently declared, “I believe the issue has been resolved; El Nino is to blame.”
Additionally, the DP emphasized the dire situation of Kenyans impacted by the catastrophic rainfall, emphasizing that over 19 counties have been impacted.
“Over the last few weeks, many parts of the country have been receiving more than heavy rains and it has threatened lives, especially downstream… I thank the media for all your work in creating awareness and all the humanitarian plans,” he said.
“More than 19 counties in ASAL and non-ASAL areas have been adversely affected by the continuing heavy rains.”
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As the chair of the Emergency Response Committee, the DP subsequently issued a directive to the counties to reallocate resources that were originally designated to mitigate the excessive rainfall.
“We take this opportunity to request the county governments to reallocate resources to mitigate this emergency,” he said.
He expressed his sorrow over the widespread devastation caused by floods, which destroyed infrastructure, displaced families, and claimed the lives of individuals and livestock in numerous regions of the country.
El Nino was a prospect that President Ruto downplayed months after a meteorologist informed the public that precipitation would begin in September of this year.
Previously, the Head of State predicted that the nation would receive substantial precipitation, which would be beneficial for the agricultural sector.
He further stated that the Nyayo National Stadium prayer for rain that he led in February was fruitful, as the nation received protracted rainfall, which enabled farmers to increase their output.
“There are those who criticized us when we prayed for rains at Nyayo stadium. They said a whole president is praying for rain. Now see, we have more rains than we have had in four years, that is God’s doing,” Ruto said.
Met Chief Issues Apology In DP Gachagua Briefing ‘Miscommunication’ on El Nino