A section of coastal region members of parliament are calling on the government’s intervention to avert an anticipated crisis as heavy rains continue hitting the region.
In a media briefing at parliamentary buildings held on Wednesday, the legislators led by Changamwe legislator Omar Mwinyi and his Likoni counterpart Mish Mboko, the legislators want the government to deploy the Kenya Defence Forces in a bid to combat the situation which they argue is deteriorating day in day out.
“As a matter of urgency we urge the National government to deploy Kenya Defence Forces to ensure that lives are not endangered and to monitor the situation.”Mwinyi said
Legislators said that the government should upscale provision of food and water in the affected areas.
According to the legislators all counties including Kwale ,Mombasa, Kilifi ,TanaRiver and Lamu have been affected by the floods.
They want the government to build bridges and roads which have been destroyed by the havoc.
“Release with immediate effect the funds for the road sector through the Kenya Rural Roads Authority.”Mwinyi said
Heavy rains blamed on a phenomenon known as the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) have hit the region for the past 48 hours causing floods most of the areas.
The Indian Ocean Dipole is an irregular oscillation of temperatures where one side of the Indian Ocean becomes hotter than the other. In this case the Western part of the Indian Ocean which is near the East African coast has been 2 degrees hotter and one of the effects is increased evaporation and increase rain along the East African coast.
On the other hand, the eastern part of the Indian Ocean which is along states such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and India has been cooler and experiencing reduced rainfall amounts.