IN SUMMARY
- Kenya Meteorological Department has warned of heavy downpour across the country from October to December
- Major slums will be targeted in the exercise.
Rainy seasons in Nairobi pose a nightmare to residents and business operators.
Nairobi City County has devised a comprehensive disaster management plan to address the anticipated impacts and support residents in responding effectively to the crisis.
“The first and most important measure is the cleaning and draining of our drainages to avoid flooding. The recruitment of 3500 environmental officers to clean and unclog the drainages goes a long way to ensure our preparedness for the El Nino rains,” Sakaja said while unveiling the County’s plan on Monday.
The governor added that he has asked the directorate in the construction sector to map out unsafe buildings, where residents will be evacuated before the flooding begins.
“We will identify buildings that pose a flooding threat and we will act accordingly, without fear or favour,” he said.
The County government has also committed to reducing ambulance response time to 9 minutes.
Among others, major drainage will be unclogged in a multi-agency exercise.
Major slums will be targeted in the exercise.
Another measure that the county government is taking is setting up an emergency number for residents to report El Nino emergencies. The number will be announced later.
“We’ve bought 27 new work trucks, fire trucks, flushing units, ambulances, excavators and exhausters,” Sakaja said.
Kenya Meteorological Department has warned of heavy downpour across the country from October to December, owing to the El Nino climate phenomenon.
There are are fears of flooding in parts of the city due to the rains. This is among others because of poor drainage system.
