Kenya Meteorogical Department has said the El Niño phenomenon and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole will intensify the rains across the country.

This has seen civil society organisations come out strongly urging government to rethink preparedness untill the end of the rainy season.

“The cost of delay is documented,” Eight to Food Coalition said on behalf of 125 organisations.

In 2024, the coalition added, floods killed 315 people, displaced about 410,000 and caused an estimated Sh187 billion in damage.

“In 2026, more than 60 people were reportedly killed in floods in March this year, followed by 18 deaths in landslides in Tharaka Nithi, Elgeyo Marakwet and Kiambu counties,” it says.

According to the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, Mandera County is the only county in Kenya to hit the legally mandated 2% emergency fund threshold allocated for El Niño preparedness.

This potentially puts 46 counties at risk as the country warms to the above-average rainfall in the coming month.

In the first week of this month (September), Kenya Red Cross Secretary General Dr. Ahmed Idris warned that there will be extreme events in October. From landslides to overflowing rivers, urban flash floods and health emergencies across the country.

“We are looking at something much bigger in scale,” Idris said on Fixing The Nation Tv program.

He added that Kenya Red Cross will work with high-risk national and county governments through community sensitisation and emergency readiness.