• The national and county governments promised to set aside Sh10 billion and Sh15 billion respectively for El Nino emergency response.
• The Coast remains the hardest hit, with some parts of Mombasa City still under water.
Image: FILE
The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights has called on the government to put more effort in El Nino mitigation measures.
In a press statement on Wednesday read by chairperson Roseline Odede, the Commission regretted that the response at both national and county level hasn't matched the worsening situation.
The national and county governments promised to set aside Sh10 billion and Sh15 billion respectively for El Nino emergency response.
"The Commission regrets that the response by governments at both levels has not matched the surging situation, which has regrettably led to the loss of 52 lives and displacement of 56,000 others so far as per media reports," Odede said.
She said Schedule Four of the Constitution mandates both national and county governments to undertake disaster management initiatives.
Odede further said governments, including Kenya, were asked to allocate at least five per cent of their annual budgets to water and sanitation.
She said they were also asked to allocate at least 0.5 per cent of the GDP per annum to hygiene and sanitation programmes.
"The International High Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa in March asked to track progress and enhance mutual accountability for results in the mobilisation of water investments and in peer review mechanisms at all governance levels," she said.
Odede further said Schedule Four of the Constitution mandates both levels of government to undertake disaster management initiatives.
It was feared that El Nino would come with risks such as floods, loss of life and livestock, crop destruction and the displacement of people which are all being witnessed.
The Met Department predicted heavy rains and strong winds could bring flooding to already soaked parts of the country just days after floods caused serious damage in Mombasa.
The Coast remains the hardest hit, with some parts of Mombasa City still under water.
An analysis by the Met department shows the top 10 stations with the heaviest rainfall in the last one week are all from the three Coastal counties of Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi.
“The highest seven-day rainfall total was recorded at Mtwapa Meteorological Station,” Dr David Gikungu, the head of meteorological department, said.
The trend is expected to continue.
He especially warned the low-lying Tana River county to prepare for possible heavy downpour in the next one week.
“Some parts of Tana River and Lamu counties may receive heavy rainfall,” he said in a new seven-day forecast that ends on Monday.