Thank God it was not in Kenya!!

As Hurricane Sandy roared into the Eastern United States on 29th October 2012, I said a quick prayer for my relatives in that country. I said a prayer for my sister in Maryland, my brother in law, his wife and their new born baby in Philadelphia and for my cousin in New York. I also said a prayer for my sisters and their families in Atlanta and Chicago because though out of the eye of the storm they could be affected and traumatised by the effects of the storm and I also said a general prayer for all Americans and Canadians that in one way or another were going to be affected by this monster of a storm as was predicted by the authorities in the US and Canada.

By the time Sandy made landfall in New Jersey, it had ploughed a path of destruction in its wake and left tens of people dead around the Carribean and mainly in Haiti a very poor nation and many more people affected by the storm. The leaders in the USA had all come out and urged the people that they are responsible for to evacuate low lying areas when requested to do so and also made an appeal for 'common sense' to prevail and many heeded the warnings and it is expected that the death toll should be minimal given that as I pen this blog the reports are that 16 people have died. It is estimated that a population of 50 Million people living in the Eastern USA and Canada will be affected by Sandy which is equivalent to about one fifth of the population of the USA or the whole population of Kenya and then some 10 Million more......affected by one storm!! 

I wonder what the position would be like here in Kenya if we had a similar storm? How many would die either from the poor planning or because they did not heed sage advice to evacuate. Remember Muranga, Meru, Kakamega, Kisii, Nairobi where scores have died and shall continue to die because they did not (and will not) heed the advice to evacuate after a steady rainfall for a few days? How long would we be without electricity and a reliable water supply? Would our roads and drainages cope with the sheer volumes of water and surface run off unleashed by a mammoth tempest?

Would we in any case be able to monitor the severity and intensity of an incoming storm? What would be the level of our disaster preparedness or would we all perish in our beds ignorant to the fact that storm surges of 13 feet plus are bearing down on us all along the Mombasa coastline and far inland? Would we be able to convince our matatu and private bus operators to suspend their business for a day or two in the interest of the safety and security of the general populace? Would the government declare a stay at home day or would they just turn a blind eye as all of us try and get to the offices by hook or by crook through the eye of a storm? Would be close our bridges and tunnels in the interest of safety so as to ensure that no one is able to get to to their workplaces?

Would our politicians who in many cases have national responsibilities during such occurences stop campaigning or would it be business as usual? Where would they be? Hunkered down in their cellars and houses or out there commiserating with the masses and providing words of comfort and solace?

We should thank God for his small mercies given that he knows we are so ill prepared for any natural disasters and that we only read about these massive storm systems in far off countries which have the experience and resources to handle them and whose early warning systems work and are monitored constantly around the clock. Where governments have put in place eleborate plans to cope with emergencies of all kinds and where the citizens can be relied upon to make informed decisions based on the levels of awareness and preparedness.

If Hurricane Sandy was to ever hit Kenya or any of our neighbors, people would die in their thousands. Property destruction would be in gargantuan proportions and we would need aid and assistance like never seen before to build our tattered and battered economies!

But for now I stand by those who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy in the Carribean and in the US and Canada and pray that you will continue to survive in the tough times ahead even as you are buffeted by the winds of Sandy and other storms in future and that you will rebuild your lives adn rise from the flood waters of Sandy.