Kajiado residents have been cautioned against residing in flood-prone areas and advised to vacate as early as possible before the onset of El Nino rains expected in October.

During a press briefing at the Governor’s Office, Kajiado County Governor, Mr. Joseph Ole Lenku, urged the residents to cooperate to avoid tragedies resulting from floods.

‘We want to give a word of caution to people to stay away from the usual flood-prone areas so that we do not have to deal with emergencies such as saving lives or even tragedies of losing lives. We do not want to be forced to move people by ourselves, so when you are told to vacate, please do so,’ said Governor Lenku.

Governor Lenku revealed that the national and county governments, stakeholders from the Meteorology Department, NGOs, the environment, disaster management, and climate change were working together and discussing ways the county could prepare for the El Nino rains.

‘Be assured that Kajiado teams at both levels of government are working to ensure this problem is mitigated. We have discussed ways we will open water drainages in all our towns so that disasters associated with floods are controlled. We will also organise tree planting exercises in flood-prone areas and ensure our livestock are vaccinated against diseases associated with floods,’ said Governor Lenku.

Kajiado County Commissioner Mr. Jude Wesonga reiterated the governor’s sentiments, adding, ‘We ask the media to pass this information to the residents because we do not want to lose lives, and if they do not move now, it will force the government to move them, and we do not want to do that.’

Wesonga said they would use this period to prepare well so that the county could benefit from El Nino rains.

‘We will ensure that, as a county, we benefit from El Nino rains. This is through planting trees and water harvesting that will be used in the future, as this is the only time we can do all these,’ said Wesonga.

National Disaster Management Director Mr. Hussein Mohamed said that they have placed measures on how information concerning El Nino would reach the residents and how they would be sensitised, educated, and trained on water harvesting and climate smart agriculture.

Source: Kenya News Agency