Lamu County government in collaboration with the Worldwide Wildlife Fund and the Kenya Red Cross Society are set to build a Sh6.7 million Emergency Response Centre that will aid in the coordination of search, rescue, disaster and emergency response within the county.
The Emergency Response Centre will be set up within Hindi Township and will be spearheaded by a multi-agency team comprising of county officials, Kenya Red Cross Society officials as well as the Kenya Police and will be ready and operational within three months.
Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony today, Lamu Governor Issa Abdalla Timamy stated that the emergency response center will further aid the county address disaster and relief efforts across the county.
He further instructed Lands, Roads, Water and Natural Resources CECM Tashrifa Mohammed to ensure that the response center has secured its title deed by the time it is completed.
“The county government is also working on securing its fire engine within the next two weeks to ensure that fire disaster responses are addressed promptly,” Timamy said.
The Governor also said that the center would double as a data collection centre from which drought and water relief efforts can be coordinated.
Kenya Red Cross Society Coast Regional Coordinator Mr. Hassan Musa said that the project would aid the county respond to drought and water relief efforts for which he noted Lamu was currently facing water shortage challenges especially across the Boni area and Lamu East.
“The Kenya Red Cross is working closely with the county government to address water shortage in Lamu East and plans are underway to introduce measures to address the issue,” Musa said.
On his part, WWF Representative Ahmed Mbarak commended the county for allocating land for the response centre and for their support in the initiative that would aid in addressing disaster responses across Lamu.
By Amenya Ochieng
