Nairobi county government will do everything within their capacity to ensure the lives and property of residents are protected, Bram Simiyu, a county government official has said.
Speaking on NTV on Wednesday, the disaster management and coordination chief officer, further called on residents to call the toll-free number 1508 in case of emergency for quick response.
He said the county through the Green army will continue to unclog, maintain and rehabilitate the drainage system to ensure the free flow of water as heavy rains pound the city.
“We will do everything in our power to sustain the efforts that are going on led by the green army, we will strive to maintain the drainage systems repair, rehabilitate those that are spoilt and ensure water can flow as it should,” Simiyu said.
“But also just to let the public know that we also have a toll-free number if there is an emergency they can reach the county on 1508 just to complement what Red Cross has in play.”
However, the officer maintained that the public should exercise individual responsibility in the management of disasters in the county.
He cautioned against illegal littering of garbage which in most cases leads to flooding occasioned by clogged drainage systems.
He said the flooding witnessed in some parts of the city is on several occasions due to related challenges caused by littering and illegal dumping of garbage as well as developers who set up their structures on the drainage and sewer lines.
“Just to encourage the public that please be responsible, do not litter because when you do that when the rains come that is what will go to block the drainage system and the ripple effect is what causes the problem that we have,” Simiyu said.
“We also encourage developers and people putting up buildings not to build on drainage and sewerage systems because that is what leads to some of the problems we are facing at the moment.”
On Tuesday, the Kenya Meteorological Department warned that heavy rainfall is expected to continue in most parts of the country from November 2023.
In the latest forecast, the weatherman also said it anticipated a reduction in spatial coverage and rainfall amounts during the latter half of the forecast period.
The weatherman said isolated storms may occur in specific regions, including the Highlands East and West of the Rift Valley, the South-eastern lowlands, and the Coast.
