Families living in Asal counties have been warned of possible floods as the predicted heavy rains start pounding parts of the country.
National Drought Management Authority said the expected El Nino rains will have major effects in 23 counties.
The authority said a further 18 counties had recovered from drought that had killed hundreds of livestock early in the year.
In its monthly report, NDMA said it is working closely with counties in mapping and monitoring specific areas prone to floods.
The authority said all Asal counties had contingency plans in place following the start of the short rains.
“Enhanced rainfall in most Asal counties is likely to be characterised by localised incidences of flooding in particular zones,” said the authority.
The authority said the food situation remained stable in most of Asal counties due to the impacts of March to May rains.
NDMA said the number of people requiring relief assistance stood at 2.8 million based on the assessment of food security conducted last month.
“Currently, 18 counties have reported Normal Drought Phase while five reported Alert Phase and require close monitoring,” it said.
The five counties in the Alert Drought Phase include Laikipia, Samburu, Turkana, Tana River and Taita Taveta.
NDMA said Isiolo, Mandera, Wajir,Tana River, Garissa, Machakos, Makueni, Kitui, Taita-Taveta, Turkana and Samburu counties were likely to experience seasonal rainfall from the third week of October.
“The expected total rainfall amounts for the 23 Asal counties are likely to be near-to-above long term average amounts for October,” it said.
Earlier, the authority said the rains will see the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance drop from 2.9 million to 1.5 million.
NDMA said food security situation is expected to significantly improve with the onset of the short rains.
The authority said the Acute Malnutrition Analysis conducted in July showed that the situation had improved in most arid counties compared to the same analysis period last year.
As per the report, the number of children aged 6 to 59 months requiring treatment for acute malnutrition decreased from 970,214 in February to 945,610 reported in July 2023.
