The government has to confront the devastation occasioned by the heavy rains in most parts of the country.
Coming at a time when the country is confronted with the coronavirus pandemic, the destruction by the rains is likely to go unnoticed yet they inflict deep pain and anguish on thousands of households.
At present, the focus is, understandably, on Covid-19. Resources and energies are all deployed to deal with the pandemic.
But there are other emergencies that require quick responses. In Elgeyo-Marakwet and West Pokot counties, for instance, heavy rains have caused mudslides that have killed at least 18 people and displaced hundreds.
Mudslides have also been experienced in Kericho County, leading to deaths and displacement.
Floods have demolished homes, schools and markets in Nyanza and western regions, forcing hundreds of residents to flee to higher ground.
Roads and other infrastructure have been brought down across the country. The Maai Mahiu-Narok road, which links Nairobi to western Kenya, is closed after a bridge collapsed.
We are faced with a severe humanitarian crisis that also undermines efforts to contain Covid-19.
The displaced do not have access to sanitation and have to contend with serious hygiene problems. Infrastructure wreckages come with huge costs.
The government has to seek emergency funds to repair the ruins and bring the infrastructure back to normal.
But the economy is deeply destabilised due to Covid-19 and resources are all targeted towards containing the pandemic.
That notwithstanding, all these are emergencies that the government has to deal with. They have serious health, economic and social implications.
Even so, most of these problems are self-inflicted and have to be dealt with as social, economic, environmental and political challenges.
When for example, Lake Victoria is overflowing due to sedimentation, the cause is environmental degradation that starts all the way from the Mau Ranges, which have been decimated through years of rapacious exploitation.
We are appalled that the same old problem of flooding in areas such as Tana Delta, Budalang’i, Kano and Lower Nyakach, as well as parts of Homa Bay, continue unabated.
And as they say, problems never come singly. The coronavirus pandemic is compounded by flooding and mudslides brought about by heavy rains.
Both must be tackled, and urgently so. The national and county governments have to deal with the rain-caused devastation as much as they tackle Covid-19.
Ultimately, however, we must seek and find a long-term solution to the perennial flooding and mudslides in parts of the country.
Credit: Source link