This archive report was first published on 24 October 2019.
As the death toll from the recent floods in Kenya continues to rise, there is a pressing need for urgent action to prevent further loss of life and property.
The Meteorological Department has issued a warning that the worst is yet to come, with the rains expected to intensify next month.
According to the Kenya Red Cross Society, 18 deaths have been confirmed in Elgeyo-Marakwet, Kitui, Meru, Turkana, and Wajir counties, with over 20,000 households displaced.
The government has assured that measures are being taken to mitigate the consequences, but the country's poor disaster preparedness is a major concern.
Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa has given an assurance about the government's response, but the irony is that the opening of the skies, which should have been a blessing, has instead brought about doom and gloom.
The apparent helplessness speaks volumes about the country's poor disaster preparedness, and it's even worse that the Met had provided accurate forecasts long before the short rainy season set in.
There are enough policies and blueprints on how to break the grip of severe droughts, which then gives way to the flooding menace. It is not impossible to build dams countrywide to trap the water that just flows to waste, leaving behind death and destruction.
