President William Ruto has declared Friday, March 10, as a public holiday.
Speaking during a meeting in Kajiado on Wednesday, the Head of State set aside the day to remember lives affected by the floods.
Official government statistics indicate that 238 people lost their lives from the nationwide flooding phenomenon that kicked off in March.
"Friday, May 10, 2024, a day set to remember those that have been adversely affected by the ravages of climate change. Let us use the day to work towards improving our environment," an insider at State House stated, attributing the announcement to the President.
The Head of State further indicated that the day will be dedicated to planting trees for climate change mitigation.
The latest flooding situational awareness by the Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura indicates that 75 people are still unaccounted for.
Mwaura, in a press statement on Tuesday, indicated that 174 individuals are nursing critical injuries while 47,000 households were displaced.
From the data, Nairobi leads with the highest number of affected individuals at 164,000 followed by Nyanza region (40,000), and the Eastern region (5,957).
"The government has deployed varied mechanisms to handle the disaster and to manage the ongoing evacuations. The KDF and NYS have been deployed to assist in the search and rescue operations while the National Government Administrative Officers (NGAO) have been mobilized to assist residents to move to safer areas,” stated Mwaura.
“We have about 30 designated evacuation centres; we have churches and schools on raised grounds. Please don’t wait until the water comes because you will not manage it. Disaster management is a joint responsibility."
To reduce the casualties from flooding, the Head of State directed all individuals living in fragile ecosystems to vacate for better areas.
He also promised to compensate the over 40,000 households displaced by the floods Ksh10,000 each to seek temporary shelter and launch the construction of 20,000 affordable houses.
The Head of State also announced that schools will reopen on Monday, March 13, two weeks later than the earlier designated date. The extension was to buy the government time to assess the effects of floods on schools and families.
