• Weather projections by the Met department show the ongoing rains will intensify and persist in the coming days.
• The CS urged members of the public to exercise caution, plan their movements and avoid risky behaviour on moving waters.
If you live in a low lying area or adjacent to a river and lake, be on standby as government could declare an evacuation order anytime due to floods or mudslide.
Interior CS Kithure Kindiki said on Wednesday the Seven Forks Hydroelectric dams are filled up and almost spilling over.
Masinga Dam, which is the first, largest and most consequential of these dams, is spilling water through the managed structural spillways.
The CS said Masinga Dam spillover does not present obvious effects into the cascade dams of Kamburu, Gitaru, Kindaruma and Kiambere.
“This notwithstanding, any further precipitation is likely to cause the spillover to cascade to the other dams with greater flooding effects being likely in the settlements contiguous to the last dam Kiambere,” Kindiki said in a statement.
As a precaution, the government has put vulnerable communities on notice of enhanced risk of flooding and mudslide, asking that they be ready for evacuation.
Weather projections by the Met department show the ongoing rains will intensify and persist in the coming days.
Kindiki said communities along lakes and rivers in Homa Bay, Siaya, Busia, Nyando, Nyakach, Muhoroni and low-lying areas of Migori, Kakamega and Vihiga are at risk if the quantity of daily rains increases.
Also at risk of flooding are low-lying areas in Narok, Kajiado and Mombasa.
Mudslide is likely to occur on hilly areas in Makueni, Nyeri, Murang’a and West Pokot counties.
Kindiki said urban areas with clogged or poor drainage and public or private water reservoirs across the country may also experience floods if rains continue uninterrupted in the coming days.
In the likely event of further rains within the River Tana and River Thiba catchment areas in the coming days, River Tana is likely to burst its banks downstream leading to significant flooding in Garissa, the Tana Delta and Lamu.
“The government notifies members of the public that the weather forecast for the ongoing long rains presents the potential for flooding and may require issuance of evacuation orders to secure public safety,” Kindiki said.
The CS urged members of the public to exercise caution, plan their movements and avoid risky behaviour on moving waters.
Kindiki said the ministry has reactivated the disaster response team that managed the effects of last year’s El Niño rains.
“The National Disaster Operations Centre at the Ministry of Interior and National Administration has reconvened the Multi-Agency Disaster Management Team, which was established during the 2023 El Niño rains to ensure a coordinated, whole of government approach to monitoring the current situation and organising government response programmes,” he said.
The Kenya Red Cross Society and relevant national and international humanitarian agencies have been co-opted in this team.
Kindiki directed county security and intelligence teams to work with county governments to monitor and report situations.
"Should the situation demand, the government will issue mandatory evacuation orders in specific areas in the interest of public safety,” he said.