El Niño rains reach Nairobi from next week, Kenya Met says. The Government has switched on its emergency plan, and Sakaja wants drains cleared in 14 days
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El Niño rains reach Nairobi from next week, Kenya Met says. The Government has switched on its emergency plan, and Sakaja wants drains cleared in 14 days.
The Kenya Meteorological Service Authority says the October to December rains have already started in 24 counties and will reach Nairobi and central Kenya in the second or third week of October. It expects above-average rainfall in Nairobi, with the season running into January.
Edward Muriuki, the acting head of the Met service, warned of flooding, waterlogging and landslides in low-lying and riverside areas, and of disruption to transport. The El Niño event behind the forecast is still strengthening, and the World Meteorological Organization expects it to become a very strong one by the end of the year.
For this week, Monday 6 to Sunday 12 October, the forecast for Nairobi is light rain in the mornings and showers in the afternoons and at night.
What the Government says it has done
The Interior Ministry says the national disaster response plan is now active, coordinated by the National Disaster Operations Centre. The KDF, police, Coast Guard, Kenya Red Cross and NYS are on standby for search and rescue.
The Public Health Emergency Operations Centre has been activated to watch for disease outbreaks, and water-treatment products are to be distributed.
Food has been pre-positioned in 10 priority counties: Tana River, Garissa, Kisumu, Busia, Nakuru, Mombasa, Kilifi, Wajir, Mandera and Turkana. Nairobi is not on that list, so county readiness matters here.
Evacuation centres have been designated, with schools assessed as possible sites.
What Nairobi County says it has done
Governor Johnson Sakaja gave county teams 14 days from Friday 2 October to finish drainage and road works in flood hotspots across all 17 sub-counties. The deadline falls around 16 October.
About 4,500 Green Army workers were sent out on a citywide clean-up on Saturday. The county says Nairobi produces about 3,200 tonnes of garbage a day.
An El Niño command centre is running at Charter Hall, City Hall. The county emergency hotlines are 1508 and 1190.
The next citywide clean-up is on Saturday 10 October, Mazingira Day. Venues will be announced through ward administrators, resident associations and the Green Army.
In September the county said it had mapped 227 flood hotspots, including Kibera, Nyayo Highrise and Lang'ata, and lined up 27 shelters.
"Nairobi Lazima Iwork is not just about what the county government does. It is about what each one of us does," Sakaja said, asking residents to keep at least 100 metres around their homes and businesses clean and to stop dumping in drains.
Muriuki said county-specific weekly and monthly forecasts are available from the offices of county directors of meteorological services.
What it means for Kibra
The next seven to ten days are the window to clear the drain outside your house or shop, and to move stock, documents and electrics off the floor.
If you live close to the Ngong River, Nairobi Dam or the other streams through Kibera, follow county evacuation notices. The county has already asked families along the rivers to move.
Save the hotlines 1508 and 1190 in your phone now.
Report blocked drains in Laini Saba, Lindi, Makina, Sarang'ombe and Woodley to your ward administrator before the 14-day deadline runs out.
Look out for the venue of Saturday's clean-up and join it if you can.
Do not let children play in flooded footpaths or storm drains.
Sources: The Star (Met forecast, Muriuki quotes), Capital FM (onset of the rains), K24 (forecast for 6 to 12 October), Citizen Digital (national response plan), The Star (14-day order), Citizen Digital (clean-up, Sakaja quote), People Daily (Mazingira Day), The Star (command centre, hotlines), (flood hotspots).
That was a Kibra News Network report, read by an A I voice.
The Kenya Meteorological Service Authority says the October to December rains have already started in 24 counties and will reach Nairobi and central Kenya in the second or third week of October. It expects above-average rainfall in Nairobi, with the season running into January.
Edward Muriuki, the acting head of the Met service, warned of flooding, waterlogging and landslides in low-lying and riverside areas, and of disruption to transport. The El Niño event behind the forecast is still strengthening, and the World Meteorological Organization expects it to become a very strong one by the end of the year.
For this week, Monday 6 to Sunday 12 October, the forecast for Nairobi is light rain in the mornings and showers in the afternoons and at night.
What the Government says it has done
The Interior Ministry says the national disaster response plan is now active, coordinated by the National Disaster Operations Centre. The KDF, police, Coast Guard, Kenya Red Cross and NYS are on standby for search and rescue.
The Public Health Emergency Operations Centre has been activated to watch for disease outbreaks, and water-treatment products are to be distributed.
Food has been pre-positioned in 10 priority counties: Tana River, Garissa, Kisumu, Busia, Nakuru, Mombasa, Kilifi, Wajir, Mandera and Turkana. Nairobi is not on that list, so county readiness matters here.
Evacuation centres have been designated, with schools assessed as possible sites.
What Nairobi County says it has done
Governor Johnson Sakaja gave county teams 14 days from Friday 2 October to finish drainage and road works in flood hotspots across all 17 sub-counties. The deadline falls around 16 October.
About 4,500 Green Army workers were sent out on a citywide clean-up on Saturday. The county says Nairobi produces about 3,200 tonnes of garbage a day.
An El Niño command centre is running at Charter Hall, City Hall. The county emergency hotlines are 1508 and 1190.
The next citywide clean-up is on Saturday 10 October, Mazingira Day. Venues will be announced through ward administrators, resident associations and the Green Army.
In September the county said it had mapped 227 flood hotspots, including Kibera, Nyayo Highrise and Lang’ata, and lined up 27 shelters.
“Nairobi Lazima Iwork is not just about what the county government does. It is about what each one of us does,” Sakaja said, asking residents to keep at least 100 metres around their homes and businesses clean and to stop dumping in drains.
Muriuki said county-specific weekly and monthly forecasts are available from the offices of county directors of meteorological services.
What it means for Kibra
The next seven to ten days are the window to clear the drain outside your house or shop, and to move stock, documents and electrics off the floor.
KNN Newsroom is the staff byline for stories written, rewritten and edited at the Kibra News Network desk. Where a story credits an outside outlet, the original source is linked at the foot of the piece.
