Three years after the Auditor General raised alarms over Kenya’s flood preparedness, deadly rains have again exposed major weaknesses in the country’s disaster management system.
Heavy downpours over the past week have claimed 42 lives and caused widespread property destruction, highlighting that critical reforms recommended in the 2023 audit remain largely unimplemented.
The March 2023 Performance Audit Report by the Auditor General on the response to floods, covering the State Department for Internal Security and National Administration and the State Department for the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development, had pointed out serious gaps in coordination, early warning response, and legal frameworks. The report noted that addressing these shortcomings could have prevented loss of lives and property.
Despite early warnings from the Kenya Meteorological Department, the country suffered major flooding last week.
Between March 3 and 9, the Kenya Meteorological Department had forecast heavy rainfall in Nairobi, with peak intensity expected between March 4 and 7.
A follow-up advisory on March 4 specifically highlighted showers and thunderstorms likely to deliver between 30mm and 50mm of rainfall. Some areas, including Westlands, Dagoretti, Roysambu, and Embakasi, received over 70mm, while Wilson Airport recorded 160mm and Moi Air Base in Eastleigh 145mm.
Despite repeated alerts, Nairobi County failed to clear clogged drainage systems, leaving residents wading through waist-deep floodwaters and vehicles stranded. Police were also not deployed to many affected areas, leaving motorists vulnerable on flooded roads, some of which were washed away by raging waters.
The Auditor General’s report had already highlighted these inefficiencies. “The State Department for Internal Security and National Administration should coordinate with the State Department for Arid and Semi-Arid Lands and Regional Development to ensure the national disaster risk management policy and law are enacted,” the audit stated. It emphasized that such a framework would address capacity challenges, clarify roles, and improve coordination across agencies.
The report also noted that flood early warning information is routinely generated by the Kenya Meteorological Department and the Water Resources Authority, and disseminated through FM radio stations, SMS alerts by the Kenya Red Cross Society, and the National Government Administration Officers chain of command.
Yet, both government and community response remained insufficient.
“It was evident from the audit findings that the government, through the State Departments for Administration and Internal Security and the Directorate of Special Programmes, had not put in place adequate measures to respond to humanitarian emergencies during flooding,” the report read.
Evacuation planning was largely absent. No county had mapped evacuation routes, and only Kisumu provided six poorly maintained centres. Relief efforts were mainly limited to food, neglecting essentials like tarpaulins, blankets, mattresses, mosquito nets, kitchenware, and mobile toilets.
Recovery work focused on roads and bridges, leaving out schools, hospitals, marketplaces, and community livelihoods. Coordination committees were often ad hoc, with unclear mandates and frequent exclusion of key stakeholders, including county governments and the Kenya Red Cross Society.
The audit further highlighted systemic shortcomings in legal frameworks and institutional capacity. No national law exists for flood management, and a disaster policy drafted in 2002 remains unapproved.
The Directorate of Special Programmes had only five technical staff nationwide, and the National Disaster Operations Centre lacks legal backing to coordinate effectively.
Contingency planning at the national level is absent, and counties have only limited plans, restricting early mobilisation of resources. Communities, often first responders, lack training, tools, and equipment for effective evacuation.
“These deficiencies directly contributed to loss of lives, livelihoods and property,” the audit noted. “Consequently, floods led to loss of lives and property in the affected areas, which would have been avoided if action had been taken following early warnings.”
To address these issues, the Auditor General recommended enacting a national disaster risk management policy and law, filling staff vacancies in the Directorate of Special Programmes, implementing an integrated relief records management system, clarifying disaster management roles between national and county governments, preparing and updating county flood contingency plans, developing an “early warning early action” strategy, and enhancing community engagement in flood response operations.
