Heavy rainfall events are expected to continue over most areas of Kiambu county for the next one-week County Director of Meteorological services Magdalene Gateri has said.
Giving the weekly weather forecast running from Wednesday to Monday May 8 to 13,2024 Gateri said that rainfall intensities and amount are however expected to reduce during the second half of the forecast period.
According to Gateri, reduction of rainfall intensities is likely to occur in low ground areas such as Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kiambu, Kikuyu, Ndeiya and some parts of Gatundu North and South.
On the other hand, high ground areas such as Uplands, Kamae, Kimende, Limuru, parts of Gatundu North such as Kamwangi and Gitwamba are expected to have low rainfall amounts and intensities as from Friday, May 10th to the end of the forecast period.
Gateri went on to advise the residents of Kiambu to take maximum care of themselves and avoid areas that are prone to landslides that may be affected by the flash floods.
“Areas prone to landslides may be affected due to soil becoming oversaturated and I kindly advise people to avoid those areas for safety purposes and take good care of themselves,” she said.
She added that residents residing in areas prone to these floods are urged to vacate to avoid dangers such as water-borne diseases and airborne diseases as also these areas put their lives at risk.
Overall, the rainfall outlook for May 2024 may reduce in intensity and the rainfall amount is expected to drop across most parts of the country, at large.
Last week the government announced rescheduling of schools reopening dates as many lives have been claimed by the catastrophic flash floods as well as destruction of property and livelihood within the country.
Since the heavy rains started, Kiambu county has seen five dams Lari swamp, Ruruti dam in Limuru, Brookside/Gicheha dam in Ruiru and Kiahuria and Selecta public dams in Juja marked risky with water levels risen.
By Lydiah Waceke
