Gov’t to disburse Ksh625M to 500,000 people affected by floods
The government has announced that it will disburse Ksh625.8 million to benefit approximately 500,000 people in eight counties affected by floods.
The funds, according to the Government SpokespersonIsaac Mwaura, will be transferred under the Cash Transfer Programme under the Hunger Safety Net Funds.
The targeted counties include Turkana, Mandera, Marsabit, Wajir, Samburu, Tana River, Garissa and lsiolo.
"Displacement camps have been set up across the North-Eastern and Coastal region with the distribution currently at 11 camps in Mandera, 16 camps in Wajir, 19 camps in Garissa and 35 camps in Tana River," Mwaura said in a statement on Wednesday, November 29, 2023.
Mwaura said the government has already distributed food to 11 Counties namely Mombasa, Kwale, Lamu, Tana River, Garissa, Wajir, Mandera, Marsabit, Busia, Kitui, Samburu and Isiolo Counties.
"Food and non-food items are similarly being stockpiled in strategic locations in the four most affected Counties namely Tana River, Garissa, Wajir and Mandera. However, rainfall in these Counties is expected to decrease, in both intensity and coverage thus providing a conducive environment to facilitate the repair of infrastructure in order to aid the distribution of essential items such as food, non-food items, and medicine to affected Kenyans," Mwaura added.
Mwaura says the government has also established an additional six camps in Kilifi, Makueni and Taita Taveta Counties bringing the number to 118 camps catering for 3,334 additional households comprising of 16,670 Kenyans displaced by floods.
Number of people affected by floods
The total number of households directly affected by floods is 93,432, comprising 462,160 Kenyans up from 89,098 households that were reported on Tuesday.
"The situation in these counties has led to an increase in disease outbreaks such as cholera, malaria and diarrhoea. Specifically, a total of 391 diarrhoea cases have been reported in Garissa, Kwale, Mandera and Wajir counties while 94 cholera cases have been reported in Lamu County. Additionally, increased cases of malaria have been reported in Mandera County, 10 of which have been confirmed while 539 remain suspected cases," Mwaura added.
"In the rest of the country, 10 Counties including Isiolo, Samburu, Kwale, Homabay, Makueni, Tharaka Nithi, Lamu, Taita Taveta, Meru and Kisumu are still on high alert."
In the last 24 hours, no new casualties have been reported with the National death toll remaining at 120 people.
Mwaura says occasional rainfall is expected to continue, particularly over the Southern parts of the country in Narok, Kajiado, Mombasa, Taita Taveta, Kwale, Kilifi, Migori, Bomet, Kericho, Kisii and Homabay Counties.
"However, disruptions in flood-affected areas will likely continue for some time as response and recovery operations are ongoing. With regard to infrastructure, the Government continues to carry out assessments to determine the cost of damage to roads and other installations. Six counties have some of their roads rendered impassable namely Garissa, Wajir, Tana River, Samburu, Marsabit and Turkana hampering some of our response efforts," Mwaura stated.
He has also advised Kenyans to exercise caution while crossing rivers and water bodies.
