Kenya Red Cross strengthens disaster preparedness via early warning alerts

Kenya Red Cross is strengthening disaster preparedness efforts through partnerships with Kenya Met, county governments and local communities, according to Deputy SG for Programmes, Joe Mbalu.

He explained how mobile alerts, community relocation initiatives and youth volunteer programmes are helping reduce the impact of floods and droughts.

Speaking during a Radio Generation interview on Friday, Mbalu said the Kenya Red Cross was increasingly shifting its focus from emergency response alone to anticipatory action and disaster risk reduction.

“One of the biggest achievements that we have made as a country, especially for anticipatory action for floods and drought emergencies, is that we worked jointly with the National Disaster Operations Centre and other parties to come up with a roadmap for anticipatory action,” he noted.

The Kenya Red Cross official explained that the organisation works closely with the Kenya Meteorological Department to disseminate early warning information to communities expected to be affected by severe weather.

“What we do, for example, even currently right now, is support Kenya Met by being able to send bulk messages to particular people,” he stressed.

According to Mbalu, the alerts are geographically targeted and are distributed through a partnership involving Safaricom to warn residents of impending heavy rains and flooding.

“We have an advisory that there is a particular deluge of rain that is supposed to happen between now and the 17th, and it is very particular geographically,” he said.

The Deputy SG noted that beyond issuing warnings, the messages also guide communities on actions they can take to reduce risks before disasters occur.

The Kenya Red Cross official said recurring disasters in Kenya, including droughts, floods, landslides and dam failures, have demonstrated the importance of investing in preparedness rather than relying solely on relief operations after tragedy strikes.

According to Mbalu, the organisation worked with affected communities to understand why settlements in flood-prone areas remained vulnerable to repeated disasters.

“It was through a participatory nature to sit with the communities and get them to understand why this happened,” he noted.

He added that similar interventions had been implemented in Kilifi County, where communities repeatedly affected by flooding were supported to relocate to slightly higher ground.

“We supported them with some materials halfway and they moved on their own,” he said. “We have not had a single flood in that particular community in Kilifi for the last six or seven years.”

Mbalu also stressed the importance of combining scientific forecasting with indigenous knowledge systems used by local communities to predict drought and weather patterns.

“Kamba communities, for example, have an entire calendar system for droughts,” he said.

However, he warned that climate-related emergencies were becoming more frequent and less predictable.

“What used to happen every seven or nine years now seems to happen every other year,” the official stressed.

The humanitarian official further spoke about the role of the Kenya Red Cross youth movement in promoting volunteerism and humanitarian values among young people.

He said the programme, established under Kenyan law, operates in primary schools, secondary schools and universities with the aim of nurturing future humanitarian leaders.

“If you get young people to buy into the ideals of humanitarianism at a young age, then the expectation is that they will evolve,” he said.

According to Mbalu, 72 percent of Kenya Red Cross volunteers and members are young people, while between 60 and 70 percent continue volunteering into adulthood.

The Deputy SG also raised concern over prolonged flooding and backflow in parts of western Kenya and the Rift Valley, where some communities have remained displaced for years.

He highlighted that Kenya Red Cross has continued providing temporary shelter, clean water, mosquito nets and other non-food items to affected families living in schools, churches and evacuation centres.

“There are particular indicators that certain villages and homesteads will never be habitable again,” Mbalu warned.

He added that the organisation was also using geospatial mapping and humanitarian data systems to identify vulnerable areas and improve future planning.

Mbalu concluded that strengthening support for volunteers and investing in anticipatory action remained essential as Kenya faces increasingly severe climate shocks.

“We really must appreciate and support the work that volunteering contributes to trying to reduce these hazards.”