BONYO'S BONE: Don't argue with floods

Over the last few days, government agencies and humanitarian organisations have gone into overdrive, issuing warnings and alerts over the growing risk of flash floods as heavy rains continue to pound large parts of the country.

These warnings are not without reason. Recent weeks have already left behind death, destruction and displacement, much of it in situations where lives could have been saved had warnings been taken seriously.

In its latest advisory, the Kenya Meteorological Department has warned of a high risk of flooding across several parts of the country, including the Coast and even the usually dry North Eastern region. That alone should tell us the seriousness of the situation.

These alerts are not political statements or suggestions. They are life-saving advisories meant to help prevent loss of life, destruction of property and the outbreak of dangerous waterborne diseases that often follow flooding disasters.

But here is where we repeatedly fail as a people. We treat warnings casually, dismiss alerts as exaggeration and wait until disaster strikes to react. Too often, we gamble with nature and hope someone else will carry the consequences for us.

According to the Met Department, the traditional March-to-May long rains are now expected to stretch into the end of June. In simple terms, this is no longer normal weather behaviour.

When conditions are abnormal, such as this, our level of vigilance must also rise. We must begin treating weather advisories with the seriousness they deserve, because this information is not meant to create panic but to empower us and help us make better decisions.

The difference between survival and tragedy is often the willingness to act early.

Mother Nature does not negotiate. She does not care about politics or respect denial, nor does she pause because we think “government should have done something.” Floodwaters do not ask for your political affiliation, and landslides do not care about your status. Nature only responds to science, and science is warning us now.

My appeal is simple: let us listen. You may dislike the messenger, but the message could save your life.

This is the moment to pay attention to meteorologists, disaster experts, health professionals and emergency responders — not rumours, not politics and not blind optimism.

If authorities ask you to move to safer ground, move. Do not wait for water levels to rise around your house. Do not wait for rescue teams or to become a statistic. Floodwaters are unforgiving.

It does not matter whether the land you occupy carries history, sentiment or even the graves of your ancestors. If disaster strikes, sentiment will not stop the water. You either move willingly or nature will move you forcefully.

We are not helpless. We are not doomed. Lives can still be saved. Property can still be protected — but only if we act responsibly and take these warnings seriously.

Let us not wait until another family is mourning to realise the weatherman was right.

While none of us lives forever, science and preparedness have consistently proven one thing: many deaths and destruction are preventable.