State should begin to bail out victims of floods and mudslides

Residents on rubble and mud at Chesegon area where the trading centre was buried under rubble after a mudslide. [Kevin Tunoi]

The plethora of crises facing Kenya, from desert locusts to the coronavirus pandemic and now mudslides and floods, can be overwhelming. Yet it is during such times that the government’s worth becomes manifest to its citizens.

Kenyans had hardly come to grips with the ravages of desert locusts in most parts of the country than coronavirus took them by storm. The negative effects of the pandemic are unquantifiable, and only time will tell just how bad things will be. Pleas for State interventions in different facets of our lives are reaching a crescendo, and it must act. But just as the government is immersed in finding ways of mitigating the effects of the virus, rains are causing untold damage in Marakwet, Narok, Garissa, Mandera, Elburgon, Nakuru, Naivasha and Kisumu, among other areas.

Roads and bridges have been washed away. Homes have been buried under massive mudslides, while others have been submerged by rising water levels, especially around Lake Victoria and Lake Nakuru. Human and animal lives have been lost. In seeking shelter, displaced people are camping in places like market centres and schools where it is near impossible to observe measures crafted to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease, and therein lies a big danger. The government has another crisis on its hands that demands immediate attention.

In truth, however, it cannot cope with the huge demand for humanitarian aid. Permanent solutions must, therefore, be sought for these occurrences that have become annual rituals. It is imperative for both levels of government to transition from regaling Kenyans with statistics about death and destruction to being proactive.

Most of the mudslides, a perennial occurrence, are mostly in areas that lie on geographical fault lines. The only remedy for this is to move people permanently out the dange- prone areas. It is irresponsible of the government to let its people endanger their lives when it has the alternative of saving them.

In the last year or so, scientists have warned of the rising levels of water in Lake Victoria. Indeed, the water has been seeping into villages around the lake and submerging homes. The county government response has been lacking. It could have acted decisively by moving people to safety early enough. Flooding caused by River Nyando can be contained through the construction of sturdy dikes. That is how perennial flooding in Budalang'i was controlled.