Nairobi has activated a multi-agency emergency command centre at Charter Hall, City Hall, as the county steps up preparations for the expected El Niño rains and puts its disaster-response systems to a live simulation test.
Nairobi Governor Sakaja Johnson says Charter Hall will serve as the Crisis Communication Centre and Emergency Operations Command Post as the county and its partners conduct Operation Okoa Maisha, a joint disaster simulation exercise designed to test the city’s readiness to respond to floods and other emergencies.
“This Charter Hall will be the one command centre for all. We need one report and one communication. As we do so, let us all unite and do our job together. What should be our charge is to save lives and property and to work diligently,” Sakaja said.
The exercise brings together Nairobi City County, the National Disaster Operations Centre (NDOC), Kenya Red Cross, Kenya Coast Guard, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and other multi-agency response teams.
The command centre is the latest step in Governor Sakaja’s push to place all agencies involved in Nairobi’s El Niño preparedness under a “One County, One Plan, One Command” framework.
Sakaja has directed national and county agencies to operate as “one team, one command, one control and one direction” as preparations intensify.
The Governor has also urged the teams to accelerate drainage and flood-mitigation works in known hotspots, while authorities intensify efforts to clear waterways and remove structures obstructing drainage corridors.
The simulation is intended to test and strengthen the city’s emergency-response chain before an actual disaster occurs, including the movement of information from the command centre to field teams and residents. It will also test coordination between agencies responsible for security, rescue, humanitarian assistance, roads, drainage and emergency management.
Charter Hall will serve as the central point where information and reports from different teams can be consolidated, allowing agencies to operate from a common picture of an unfolding emergency.Sakaja has been supervising accelerated flood-prevention works across Nairobi, including drainage clearance, desilting and widening of waterways in identified hotspots.
Additional earth-moving equipment has also been deployed to vulnerable areas.
“We cannot wait for the rains to come and then start responding. We must prepare in advance, identify the risks, clear our drainage systems and make sure our teams are ready to respond when called upon,” Sakaja said.
The county has also established emergency hotlines 1508 and 1190 and identified evacuation drop-off points and shelters as part of preparations for possible flooding.
Sakaja has urged multi-agency teams to facilitate the movement of residents from dangerous sections along the Mathare, Ngong and Nairobi rivers, stressing that the exercise is intended to save lives rather than displace communities.
“Occupying riparian land is non-negotiable. You must move. We do not want you to die,” Sakaja said.
He said residents living in high-risk areas would be moved to safer locations as authorities intensify efforts to protect lives and property.
The establishment of the Charter Hall command centre is expected to provide a single coordination point for the various agencies during the rainy season, ensuring that emergency information is shared quickly and that response teams work from a coordinated plan.
For Nairobi, the exercise comes as authorities prepare for heavy rains expected during the October–December season, with the county stepping up interventions in flood-prone areas.
The simulation therefore offers the city an opportunity to test its preparedness on the ground from the first emergency alert and deployment of responders to evacuation, rescue, communication and coordination before the rains intensify.
For the agencies involved, the message from City Hall is clear: when an emergency comes, Nairobi must speak with one voice and respond as one team.
