Calm Before the Storm’: PS Isaboke Sounds El Niño Alarm

By Evans Mutinda

The Government has issued a dramatic warning over the looming El Niño rains, telling Kenyans to prepare for a potentially devastating deluge and declaring that “this is the calm before the storm.”
Principal Secretary for Communication Mr.Stephen Isaboke, who chairs the newly established National Crisis Communication Standing Committee, said the Government was stepping up its public information campaign to ensure no Kenyan is caught unaware when the rains arrive.

Mr. Isaboke said the country must move from early warning to early action, with authorities taking preventive measures before floods and other emergencies strike.
“It’s like Noah’s flood: shout, shout, shout, let everyone be aware that what we are having now is the calm before the storm,” Mr. Isaboke said.
He said the El Niño threat was not speculation but a scientifically forecast phenomenon, with meteorologists giving Kenya a 90 per cent probability of above-average or very high rainfall.

“This phenomenon is coming. El Niño is actually science. It’s not speculation. It is coming, 90 percent predicted,” Mr. Isaboke said.
The warning comes as the Government intensifies preparations for rains expected from October 2026 into early 2027, amid fears of flooding, destruction of infrastructure and loss of livelihoods.
‘No Kenyan should be left behind’
Mr.Stephen Isaboke said Government agencies had been directed to over-communicate the threat so that warnings reach even communities in remote and vulnerable areas.
“We don’t want to hear messages coming as an idea, but no one heard this thing,” he said.

The National Crisis Communication Standing Committee will coordinate public messaging during the emergency, ensuring that information released by Government is accurate, timely, verified and actionable.
Mr. Isaboke said the communication strategy would be guided by accuracy, timeliness, transparency, credibility, consistency and inclusivity.
The Government will use vernacular radio stations, national Government administration officers and ministry officials to take the warnings directly to communities.

“We will actually then follow up with engagements in the communities using vernacular radio stations, using the national government and ministerial officials, right up to the ground,” Mr. Isaboke said.
From warning to action
Mr. Isaboke said the Government was determined to break with the tradition of waiting until disaster strikes before responding.
“We want the government to actually secure the citizens, so that when we are forewarned and we act about it, then our people are safe, we secure our lives and assets,” he said.
He said accurate forecasts would only save lives if they reached people early enough and in a form they could understand and act upon.
The committee will also coordinate efforts to combat misinformation and fake news, which Mr. Stephen Isaboke said could undermine emergency response.

He urged Kenyans to rely on information from official Government and technical agencies, particularly the meteorological department, and follow advisories specific to their counties and communities.
Media enlisted
Mr. Stephen Isaboke identified the media as a critical partner in the Government’s preparedness campaign, urging journalists and media houses to help disseminate verified information across the country.
He said the crisis communication framework would go beyond El Niño and become a permanent mechanism that can be activated during other national emergencies.

“Our objective in this solemn communication is to ensure that information reaches the people early enough for them to act,” Mr. Isaboke said.
He ended with a direct warning to Kenyans:
Stay informed. Prepare early. Follow official advisories. Act when warned.