Nairobi tests flood response as agencies set up emergency command centre

NAIROBI,Kenya Oct 1 – Nairobi has begun testing its emergency response system ahead of the October-December rains, with national and county agencies setting up a joint command centre at Charter Hall.

The exercise, dubbed Operation Okoa Maisha, is intended to test how authorities would respond to flooding and other emergencies, including the flow of information, deployment of rescue teams and evacuation of residents from high-risk areas.

The exercise brings together the Nairobi County Government, National Disaster Operations Centre, Kenya Red Cross, Kenya Defence Forces, Kenya Coast Guard and other emergency agencies.

Charter Hall will serve as the central coordination point during the exercise, with participating agencies expected to relay reports from the field to a single command post.

Governor Johnson Sakaja said the arrangement was intended to avoid different agencies working with separate information during an emergency.

“We need one report and one communication,” Sakaja said.

The preparations come amid renewed attention to Nairobi’s vulnerability to flooding, particularly in areas around the Mathare, Ngong and Nairobi rivers.

County teams have been clearing drains, desilting waterways and deploying earth-moving equipment in areas identified as flood hotspots.

The county has also identified evacuation centres and established emergency numbers 1508 and 1190 for residents requiring assistance.

Sakaja said authorities would also seek to move people living in areas considered dangerous, including sections of riparian land.

“Occupying riparian land is non-negotiable. You must move. We do not want you to die,” he said.

The simulation is expected to expose weaknesses in the response system before an actual emergency occurs.

Among the issues being tested are how quickly an alert reaches response teams, how agencies coordinate rescue operations and whether residents in affected areas can be moved to safety.

The exercise also provides an opportunity to establish which agency takes responsibility for particular operations when several government and humanitarian organisations are responding to the same incident.

Nairobi has in previous rainy seasons experienced flooding in several parts of the city, disrupting transport and displacing residents.

The county is now using the simulation to test whether its current arrangements can cope with a major flood emergency when the rains intensify.