• The mandatory evacuations, he said will begin after 24 hours which would elapse on Friday at 6.30 pm.
• He said the government will provide logistical support, food, and non-food essential supplies to all those affected by the orders.
Image: MINA
As floods continue to wreak havoc across the country, the government through various agencies and humanitarian organisations continues to set up mitigation efforts to those who are affected.
The Ministry of Interior led by Prof Kithure Kindiki is at the centre of ensuring nothing is left to chance, with regular updates on the new developments as rescue efforts continue.
This continues even as the heavy rains are expected to continue over the next few days.
On Thursday, CS Kindiki said at least 178 dams across the country were either filled up or nearly filled up. These dams are spread across 33 counties.
He said the floods have caused loss of human lives, destruction of families and business premises, death of livestock, and destruction of significant swathes of cropland.
The CS directed voluntary vacation or mandatory evacuation of all persons living in the neighbourhood of the 178 dams and water reservoirs.
The mandatory evacuations, he said will begin after 24 hours which will elapse on Friday at 6.30 pm.
Kindiki however, said that there would be no evacuations at night.
"Mandatory evacuation of affected persons shall be carried out strictly between 0600 hours and 1830 Hours, and, for the avoidance of doubt, no mandatory evacuation shall be carried out at night.
The CS ordered County Security and Intelligence Committees (CSICs) to continuously monitor other dams or water reservoirs across the country that may not be presenting a risk now but could do so in the event of further precipitation.
He said the government will provide logistical support, food, and non-food essential supplies to all those affected by the orders.
Kindiki added that all stakeholders, including humanitarian agencies, will be involved in the vacation and mandatory evacuation process.
The CS further directed all persons living in riparian corridors and within the 30-metre radius of rivers across the country to vacate immediately or be forcefully removed.
The Interior CS also ordered the removal of buildings erected illegally within the 30-metre radius of Nairobi Rivers (Mathare, Ngong and Nairobi Rivers).
He said the removal of these structures and buildings will start immediately and persons living within the same radius to vacate by 6.30 pm on Friday.
Failure to vacate, they will be mandatorily removed from these high-risk areas.
The Nairobi Rivers operation will be overseen by the Nairobi Regional and County Security Teams together with the Nairobi City County Government and the Multi-agency Team under the auspices of the National Disaster Operation Centre (NDOC)
The directives, Kindiki said will be enforced by security agencies and with the support of the National Youth Service (NYS).