GNDR members are responding to the devastating floods that have hit Kenya in recent days following extreme levels of rain caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
Grassroots civil society organisations and GNDR members, including Green Generation Initiative, Women’s Right Advocacy Initiative, CSL Kenya and TINADA Youth Organization, are actively participating in search and rescue efforts. They are also working to raise awareness about the necessity for people to relocate to safer grounds.
Some of the hardest hit areas include Nairobi, Nyanza, northeastern, and central Kenya. The Kenya National Disaster Operation Center reports that flooding has claimed the lives of at least 140 people and displaced approximately 131,000 individuals.
Dams, rivers, and lakes have been overflowing, including the famous Tana River which broke its banks in Garissa County, and the Kijabe Dam which broke open, sweeping away a whole village and killing at least 42 people in Mai Mahiu, Nakuru County.
In the short term the devastation is clear. And the impact of the flooding will extend far into the future with livelihoods, private property and infrastructure destroyed.
GNDR staff are on the flood technical committee, collaborating closely with the Kenya National Disaster Operations Centre and key stakeholders to enhance response mechanisms. We also continue to advocate for community-owned resilience measures to safeguard the most at-risk communities from future flooding.