Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Friday, November 10, pushed Kenya Meteorological Department to state in black and white whether the country was experiencing the El Nino phenomenon or not.
Speaking during a multistakeholder meeting about the ongoing rains, Gachagua cut short his speech to invite the Met Department’s Director David Gikungu to clear the uncertainty surrounding the rains.
“Before I make the statement, I want to call the Director of the meteorological department to tell the country what it is so that then from there we can be able to proceed,” Gachagua remarked.
Subsequently, Gikungu took to the podium and apologized in front of the glaring media cameras.
In his brief speech, the Kenya Met Director pointed that Kenya was experiencing the El Nino phenomenon as initially predicted.
Gikungu further apologized for what he called miscommunication and lack of clarity from the Weather Department on the question of El Nino.
“As initially given in the forecast we have El Nino in this short rain season 2023 and we do apologize for the lack of communication and miscommunication,” Gikungu said.
“Going forward let us prepare ourselves for enhanced rainfall,” he added before handing over the podium back to DP Gachagua.
Also Read: El Nino to Last for Six Months: World Met
The clarification came amid the heavy rains experienced in various parts of the country in the past few days. Parts of the Northeastern region and upper Eastern have experienced flooding occasioned by the rainwater.
El Nino Confusion
The floods came despite reports that the El Nino phenomenon would manifest in the rainy season.
President William Ruto while addressing a church service in October had confirmed receipt of information from the Weatherman stating that El Nino rains would not hit Kenya as predicted earlier in September.
For months now, the Weather Department has been accused of not stating a firm position on whether Kenyans should brace for the heavy Ell Nino rains or not.
Also Read: El Nino Confusion: Weatherman Clarifies as Heavy Rains Intensify
Gachagua announces measures to mitigate flood effects
In response to the heavy rains experienced in different parts, Gachagua announced that the government had taken a raft of measures to mitigate the adverse effects of flooding rocking Kenyans.
Among the measures he announced include deployment of military helicopters to flood-affected areas to evacuate people and delivering papers in the ongoing Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination.
Additionally, Gachagua said that the state was distributing relief food including rice, and cooking oil to families including those displaced by the ravaging floods.
Further, the DP confirmed that the Ministry of Interior was conducting round the clock surveillance operations to monitor the situation in various parts of the country.
This even as latest reports from the weather forecast department indicate that the rains are expected to now extend to January 2024 and into the first quarter of 2024.
