By:Athuman Luchi
With memories of the 2023 El Niño floods still fresh, Mombasa is leaving nothing to chance as authorities intensify preparations for the anticipated heavy rains and possible flooding across the county.
Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir chaired a meeting of the Mombasa County Disaster Risk Management Committee, with the support of County Commissioner Mohamed Nur, to assess the county’s level of preparedness and strengthen measures to protect residents and critical infrastructure.
During the meeting, officials reviewed lessons from the 2023 El Niño rains, which affected nearly 3,900 households in Mombasa. The experience, officials say, demonstrated the need for the county to shift from simply responding to disasters to taking early action to prevent and reduce their impact.
The county has consequently developed a multi-agency contingency framework focusing on early warning, early action, coordinated response and rapid recovery.
As part of the immediate measures, authorities will verify flood hotspots across all six sub-counties, continue clearing drainage channels and prepare ward-level evacuation plans and emergency shelters.
Rescue equipment and emergency supplies will also be pre-positioned in strategic areas, while public-health surveillance will be strengthened to monitor potential disease outbreaks associated with flooding.
The county will further establish a 24-hour incident-reporting and escalation mechanism to ensure that emergencies are identified and acted upon without delay.
Governor Nassir said the county will also intensify public sensitisation and conduct multi-agency flood-response simulations to test the readiness of emergency teams.
More than 300 officers from the county government and national agencies have already participated in training exercises covering rescue operations, marine safety, casualty management and emergency response.
The preparedness programme will be strengthened through closer collaboration with security agencies, the Kenya Red Cross, maritime and roads agencies, development partners, private-sector players, faith-based organisations and community structures.
The county government says its priority is to protect lives, homes, businesses, roads, schools, health facilities and other essential infrastructure, particularly in communities considered most vulnerable to flooding.
Residents have been urged to remain alert and follow official early-warning advisories, avoid crossing flooded roads and waterways, keep children away from dangerous areas and refrain from dumping waste in drainage channels.
Governor Nassir says while it may not be possible to prevent every incident, proper preparation, shared responsibility and decisive coordination can significantly reduce the impact of floods and save lives.
