Machakos County, Kenya Red Cross step up El Nino preparedness

Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti during the opening of the Kenya Inter-Agency Rapid Assessment Training at Machakos County Disaster Operations Centre on September 21, 2026. [John Muia, Standard]

Machakos County Government in collaboration with the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), has stepped El Nino preparedness to avert disaster.

Governor Wavinya Ndeti and KRCS Regional Director Lower Eastern, George Ndolo, on Monday announced that they had laid down the appropriate arrangements to respond to emergencies during the El Nino rains expected to begin in October.

Speaking while launching the Kenya Initial Rapid Assessment (KIRA) training at the Machakos County Disaster Operations Centre, the two leaders announced a raft of measures already being implemented to ensure effective emergency disaster response.

Governor Wavinya said her administration had already earmarked funds, equipment and human resources for emergency response during adverse weather conditions.

The governor revealed that county staff serving in various strategic departments have been activated and placed on high alert.

She said teams in the healthcare sector, public works, special programs as well as emergency and disaster management are on standby for special deployments.

“Across our key municipalities, engineering teams have been expanded and works are already ongoing to clear critical storm drainage networks to minimise flash flooding in high-density urban areas,” Wavinya said.

“In our health sector, we have systematically aligned medical facilities with emergency supplies, stockpiling essential pharmaceuticals and prepositioning trauma response kits. Furthermore, all personnel assigned to our disaster emergency protocols are now fully activated and operating on high alert under a unified command at our disaster and emergency command centre,” she added.

The governor unveiled toll-free emergency call numbers:  0720808900, 0715068861, 0800600016 and 1199 and urged residents to call when in distress.

Ndolo said KRCS has trained officers and emergency responders who will be deployed to incident scenes whenever need arises.

“We are also positioning response items closer to the disaster-prone areas to ensure we can respond within the shortest time possible. We are also advising residents to take anticipatory actions within their living areas to minimise or eradicate casualties during the El Nino period,” he said.

Meanwhile, the local meteorological office has warned residents to brace themselves for above average rainfall beginning mid October.

Machakos County Meteorological Director, Dominic Kyalo revealed the Kola area of Machakos sub-county will receive the highest amount of rainfall in the region to the tune of up to 600 millimetres.

“So far, we have forecasted a heavy rainfall probability of 80 to 90 percent and we have advised households living in low-lying areas to prepare to move to higher ground,” he said.

Kyalo cautioned residents living around Iveti Hills, Kaseve, Kiima Kimwe and Katoloni within Machakos to be wary of landslides and take necessary precautions ahead of the El Nino rains.