The government has activated a comprehensive national response under the National Contingency Plan to prepare for flooding and other rain-related hazards associated with the expected El Niño rains.
The response brings together national security agencies, humanitarian organisations, health authorities and other government institutions to ensure timely assistance reaches populations facing heightened risks.
Rescue Teams Prepared for Flood Emergencies
As part of the preparations, the government has mobilised personnel from the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS), Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), National Police Service (NPS), Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) and National Youth Service (NYS) to support rescue operations where required.
Designated evacuation and displacement centres have also been established.
A standardised registration system is ready to help authorities identify and track displaced people and facilitate the provision of assistance.
Where flooding disrupts roads and other transport infrastructure, alternative access routes will be activated.
Air support will also be mobilised through the National Disaster Operations Centre (NDOC) where necessary.
Authorities are also preparing for possible outbreaks of communicable diseases that could follow flooding and other rain-related emergencies.
The Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) and Incident Management System (IMS) have been deployed to coordinate emergency health services, strengthen disease surveillance and support the prevention and control of waterborne and vector-borne diseases.
These measures will be intensified depending on the conditions in affected areas.
Supply pipelines for therapeutic and supplementary nutrition commodities have also been secured and verified to ensure essential support remains available.
Water and Sanitation Measures Intensified
Water-quality surveillance will be intensified in areas affected by flooding, alongside the distribution of water-treatment products.
Authorities will also assess sanitation facilities in affected settlements.
Measures have already been put in place to minimise contamination and reduce associated public health risks.
The government has also taken measures to protect food security and livelihoods by pre-positioning food stocks in 10 Priority 1 counties.
The counties are Tana River, Garissa, Kisumu, Busia, Nakuru, Mombasa, Kilifi, Wajir, Mandera, and Turkana.
The pre-positioned stocks will be ready for release to populations affected by the rains and related emergencies.
Relief supplies and emergency shelter materials have also been positioned for deployment to evacuation and displacement sites.
Protection monitoring mechanisms are ready to be activated to identify and respond to the needs of vulnerable groups.
Farmers and Livestock Keepers to Receive Advisories
Location-specific agricultural advisories will be issued to guide farmers as weather and ground conditions change.
The government will also intensify animal disease surveillance to protect livestock and reduce the risk of disease outbreaks.
The education sector has also made arrangements to assess the condition and functionality of learning institutions that could be affected by the rains.
Authorities will work to safeguard learning materials in cases where schools may be required for use as displacement sites.
NDOC to Coordinate National Response
The overall response will be coordinated through the National Disaster Operations Centre (NDOC).
The coordination mechanism is intended to ensure national and county-level interventions remain timely, targeted and effective as the country prepares for the expected rains.
The measures include emergency rescue preparedness, evacuation arrangements, health surveillance, food and relief supplies, agricultural advisories and protection of essential services.
