Sifuna urges govt to fast-track El Niño preparedness plan as Met warns of heavy rains
By Emmanuel Rono, June 4, 2026Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has urged the national government to urgently roll out a comprehensive El Niño preparedness and response plan, warning that Kenya must act early to avoid a repeat of past flooding disasters.
Speaking on the floor of the Senate on Thursday, June 4, 2026, Sifuna said the country cannot ignore early warnings from experts, noting that previous flooding episodes in 2023 and 2024 caused major loss of life and displacement of thousands of people.
“We have to be a country that listens to experts. Previous experiences with serious flooding in 2023–24, for instance, we lost over 300 lives and almost 50,000 people were displaced,” Sifuna said.
Senator Sifuna stated that the government should not assume what the experts from the Meteorological department outlined about the heavy rain ahead.
National Preparedness Framework
He called for the immediate publication of a national preparedness framework, insisting that Kenyans must be clearly informed on how the government intends to respond to possible flooding.
“The national government must now publish a comprehensive El Niño preparedness and response plan. We want to know what to do in the event of certain happenings,” Sifuna said.
The senator also pushed for the establishment of properly equipped evacuation centres in vulnerable areas, saying their locations should be made public in advance to ensure a quick response during emergencies.
“We want to see emergency evacuation centres being set up and all of us should know where those things are,” he added.
World Meteorological Organisation warning
This comes as the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) warns that El Niño conditions are developing across the tropical Pacific Ocean.
According to the latest WMO weather and climate update released on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, there is an 80 per cent chance that El Niño will develop between June and August 2026.
“A new WMO El Niño/La Niña Update indicates an 80% likelihood of an El Niño event during June-August 2026,” WMO stated.
Forecast models further show that the phenomenon is likely to persist through November with a probability exceeding 90 per cent, potentially reaching moderate or strong intensity.