The government has activated a comprehensive national response under the National Contingency Plan to ensure timely assistance to the populations facing heightened risks from flooding and other rain-related hazards associated with the expected El Niño rains.
As part of preparations, the government has mobilized troops from the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS), the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), the National Police Service (NPS), Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) and National Youth Service (NYS) to be ready for rescue operations.
Designated evacuation and displacement centres have also been set up, with a standardised registration system ready to facilitate the identification, tracking, and provision of assistance to displaced populations.
Alternative access routes will also be activated where roads and other transport infrastructure are disrupted, while air support will be mobilised through NDOC where required.
In anticipation of possible outbreak of communicable diseases, the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) and the Incident Management System (IMS) have been deployed to coordinate emergency health services, strengthen surveillance, and support the prevention and control of waterborne infections and vector-borne diseases, with these efforts set to be intensified as conditions require.
Supply pipelines for therapeutic and supplementary nutrition commodities have been secured and verified to ensure continuity of essential support.
Water-quality surveillance is also set to be intensified in affected areas, alongside the distribution of water-treatment products.
In addition, sanitation facilities in affected settlements will be assessed, with measures already put in place to minimise contamination and associated public health risks.
To safeguard food security and livelihoods, pre-positioned food stocks are ready for release in the ten Priority 1 counties of Tana River, Garissa, Kisumu, Busia, Nakuru, Mombasa, Kilifi, Wajir, Mandera, and Turkana.
The government has further pre-positioned relief stocks and emergency shelter materials for deployment to evacuation and displacement sites, while protection monitoring mechanisms are ready to be activated to identify and respond to the needs of vulnerable groups.
Meanwhile, location-specific agricultural advisories will be disseminated to guide farmers as conditions evolve. Animal disease surveillance will also be intensified to protect livestock and mitigate the risk of disease outbreaks.
In the education sector, arrangements are in place to assess the condition and functionality of affected learning institutions and safeguard learning materials where schools are required for use as displacement sites.
The response will be coordinated through the National Disaster Operations Centre (NDOC) to ensure that national and county-level actions remain timely, targeted, and effective.
