Kisumu County Government has allocated Sh70 million for relief and disaster management to mitigate impacts of the predicted El Nino rains.
Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma assured Kisumu residents who are living in floods prone areas that they are well prepared for the heavy rains.
Speaking during the Kisumu County El Nino Disaster preparedness forum held at Sunset Hotel on Tuesday, he asked them to move to higher grounds to prevent death cases.
Ranguma said the Sh70 million is inadequate with the predicted high magnitude rain and asked the national government to speed up the release of devolution funds to the county for proper preparation.
Ranguma appealed to national government and other NGOs to intervene support Kisumu County with finance to mitigate the imminent floods before the situation turns worse.
He said it is better for early mitigation measures to be put in place so that when the rains starts then the residents will not be displaced and property destroyed.
“We are appealing to the National government and NGOs to support the floods mitigation program in Kisumu County early before the situation is out of control,” he said
The governor noted that early measure will help control the floods and lives and property will be saved.
Ranguma said there is need for dykes to be build and both Magwagwa and Koru Dams to be constructed to control the wild waters.
“If the dams are completed, flood menace will partly be addressed as county government will tap the water for irrigation farming,” he said.
He decried that the design of construction Magwagwa dam was complete but no funds are available to commence the construction work.
He asked the national government to speed up the construction of Magwagwa and Koru dams as promised by cabinet secretary of water and irrigation Eugene Wamalwa when he toured floods prone areas.
Ranguma said lasting solution should be found to mitigate the Nyando floods belt zone instead of taking every day and night about the floods.
The forum which brought together all stakeholders including NGOs identified floods hot spot areas and deliberated on the interventions during the pre-disaster, disaster and post disaster period.
The flood prone areas are Nyando, Nyakach, Kisumu East and parts of Muhoroni, Kisumu Central, Kisumu West and Seme sub counties.