Coastal residents urged to keep safe as El Nino looms

Mombasa,

Friday, October 20, 2023

KNA by Chari Suche

Mombasa residents living in flood-prone areas have been advised to relocate to safer places before the onset of El Nino rains.

This comes after an incident where two men were trapped in a pit in Mishomoroni, Mombasa after a landslide occurred during construction work.

Speaking during the Mombasa County Mashujaa Day Celebration, the County Commissioner, Abdulrizak Jaldesa, advised that people should cease soil harvesting and any kind of excavation, especially digging of wells, to avoid tragedies resulting from the rains.

Jaldesa said that the National and County governments have already identified high-risk areas and are in the process of coming up with mitigation measures.

He said the government is working hard to ensure that people are not caught off-guard by the disaster, urging locals to cooperate and heed advice from the technical team.

“All the activities that involve digging of boreholes should be put on hold for now, as the rainy season has started. Our humble appeal to the residents living in high areas is to, please, vacate and find safer places,” he said.

The Meteorological Department had announced that the country will receive El-Nino rains from October to December 2023, urging the public to prepare adequately.

Mombasa Governor, Abdulswamad Nassir, urged contractors too to follow advice, by ensuring they work on permits and build in appropriate and safe areas.

Nassir urged the construction workers to pose their jobs for this period, to avoid accidents such as being buried in the sand.

County Transport Executive Member, Dan Manyala, said that the County has already started unclogging the drainage systems, especially in the mainland and railway areas, in preparation for the rains.

Courtesy; KNA