OCHA Situation Report No. 1
Floods: Kenya
17 November 2006


SITUATION

Background

1. The Kenya Meteorological Department had predicted a mild El Nino
effect on Kenya to occur in September this year. This climatic trend
comes after nearly 3 years of drought in northern and eastern Kenya,
which led to a serious humanitarian crisis in late 2005, particularly
affecting the pastoralist populations.

2. The initial impact of this El Nino trend was seen in early October
when heavy rains caused flooding in several districts in Kenya,
including Isiolo, Garissa, Lodwar, Moyale, Wajir, Mandera and Kwale. The
flooding led to the loss of 19 people, displaced 1,800 people and
damaged the household property of 30,000 people. The Kenya Red Cross,
which acts as the Government of Kenya's main disaster agency, responded
with the provision of emergency supplies, such as shelter equipment,
blankets, household utensils and food. Between 15th and 17th October
2006, Mombasa on the coast and Moyale in northern Kenya received 110mm
and 124 mm of rain respectively. As a result of these rains, 11 people
died in the districts of Kilifi and Kwale on the coast, whilst 5
children died as a result of a landslide in Mombasa.

Current situation

3. Over the weekend of 11th and 12th November 2006, torrential rains in
north-eastern Kenya and the coastal areas of the country killed nearly
30 and displaced over 20,000 people. A lot of people are still missing.
The Kenya Red Cross estimates that in the main affected areas (as shown
below in the table) 207,000 people are directly affected by the floods.
Several areas however are still un-assessed and figures are expected to
change over the next days. The Office of the President estimates that
the number of affected people may reach up to 500,000. These rains have
been by far the most devastating this year.

4. The map below shows the main affected areas, which are the Coast
Province and the North-eastern Province:

5. The detailed figures of affected populations according to the Kenya
Red Cross is as follows:

|--------------------+---------------|
| Area/ District     | Populations   |
|                    | affected =    |
|                    | Total 207,000 |
|--------------------+---------------|
| Dadaab             | 100,000       |
|--------------------+---------------|
| Kwale              |  50,000       |
|--------------------+---------------|
| Garissa            |  17,000       |
|--------------------+---------------|
| Kilifi             |  10,000       |
|--------------------+---------------|
| Tana River         |  10,000       |
|--------------------+---------------|
| Ijara              |  10,000       |
|--------------------+---------------|
| Wajir              |   3,000       |
|--------------------+---------------|
| Moyale             |   3,000       |
|--------------------+---------------|
| El Wak             |   2,000       |
|--------------------+---------------|
| Budalangi          |   2,000       |
| (Western Province) |               |
|--------------------+---------------|


6. With 2,000 people affected in Budalangi in Busia District (see the
above table), the rains have also reached Western Province on the border
to Uganda. It may be recalled that this is an area, which was badly
affected during the 1997 El Nino floods.

7. Infrastructure destruction has been most marked in Kwale District on
the southern coast, with 5 bridges and numerous roads destroyed.

8. The three refugee camps in Dadaab (Garissa District) in North-eastern
Province - Ifo camp, Hagadera camp and Dagahaley camp - have been
severely affected by the inundation with two refugees killed over the
weekend. UNHCR have described the flooding as catastrophic. The rains
have disrupted water provision and caused severe damage to sanitation
facilities and refugee houses, particularly in Ifo camp. UNHCR have
estimated that 90% of the population in the Ifo camp - nearly 60,000
people - have been directly affected by the floods.  Diarrhoea cases
have risen dramatically. In Dagahaley camp, over 200 latrines have
collapsed with over 1,900 refugee houses damaged.

9. The WFP emergency food aid programme in North-eastern Province,
including in the Dadaab area, has suffered a major disruption due to
impassable flooded and damaged roads in the Districts of Garissa, Wajir,
and Mandera. The Districts of Tana River and Ijara are virtually cut off
with roads impassable.

10. The Ministry of Health in Mombasa has issued a cholera alert. The
Ministry has reported that 94 suspected cases of cholera were reported
between 20th October and 11th November on the coast, of which 13 have
proved to be positive for cholera. Since October, there have been at
least two deaths from cholera on the coast. Water sources are
contaminated, drainage systems have collapsed and water pipes have been
washed away. There are similar fears for public health in Dadaab, where
the damage to water systems has seen refugees using floodwater for
drinking purposes. The rains have also delayed the completion of an
emergency polio campaign, which started on 4th November in 5 districts
of North-eastern Province after 1 case of polio was confirmed in the
Dadaab camps.

NATIONAL RESPONSE

11. Coordination: Natural disaster coordination in Kenya is managed
jointly by the Office of the President and the Kenya Red Cross. The main
national coordinating structure for natural disasters is the Rapid-Onset
Disaster Committee. It is jointly chaired by the Office of the President
and the Kenya Red Cross and extends its membership to Government
ministries, UN agencies, main international NGOs and donors. At the
district level, the Government's District Steering Committees are the
key coordination structures for humanitarian action. They have been
meeting over the past few days to coordinate information and assessment
planning.

12. Assessment: The Kenya Red Cross has been the key agency in
responding to the needs of the displaced and flood-affected households.
They have conducted emergency assessments in the majority of areas in
Kenya affected by the heavy rains.

13. Appeal: On 15 November 2006, the Kenya Red Cross launched an
emergency appeal for 562 million Kenya Shillings (USD 7.9 million) to
assist 300,000 people with non-food items such as shelter and blankets,
medical kits, emergency latrine construction, health education and
transport.

14. The Kenya Red Cross has distributed the following relief materials
so far to the flood-affected areas in November:

|-------+---------+--------+------+-----------+-----+--------+----------|
|-      |Blankets |Kitchen |Jerry |Tarpaulins |Soap |Bladder |Assorted  |
|       |         |sets    |cans  |(MT)       |     |tanks   |food (MT) |
|-------+---------+--------+------+-----------+-----+--------+----------|
|Kwale  |1000     |250     |1000  |500        |2000 |-       |6         |
|-------+---------+--------+------+-----------+-----+--------+----------|
|Kilifi |2500     |250     |250   |250        |1000 |3       |-         |
|-------+---------+--------+------+-----------+-----+--------+----------|
|Lodwar |-        |200     |400   |-          |800  |-       |1.5       |
|-------+---------+--------+------+-----------+-----+--------+----------|
|Isiolo |1325     |1000    |2000  |780        |4000 |-       |17        |
|-------+---------+--------+------+-----------+-----+--------+----------|
|Moyale |-        |82      |-     |82         |-    |-       |4.3       |
|-------+---------+--------+------+-----------+-----+--------+----------|
|Total  |4825     |1950    |3650  |1530       |7800 |3       |-         |
|-------+---------+--------+------+-----------+-----+--------+----------|


15. The Red Cross has also pre-positioned relief stocks in the Districts
of Garissa, Kwale and Kisumu.

16. The Kenyan Government has sent 5 engineers to the coast to assess
requirements for roads and bridges repairs.

17. The Kenyan Army has been involved in aerial assessments and has
dropped relief supplies, including 6 MT of food, in the affected areas
of the coast.

18. The Ministry of Health is establishing emergency health management
measures, particularly in dealing with the sharp rise in diarrhoea
cases.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

19. Assessment: A joint Government, Kenya Red Cross and UN (UNICEF, WFP,
FAO) team is currently (16th -17th November) undertaking a detailed
assessment of the situation in the worst affected districts in Coast
Province and in North-east Province. This will be followed by a more
intensive set of field visits to the most severely affected areas using
helicopters on 19th and 20th November. On the basis of these assessments
more targeted humanitarian action will take place.

20. CERF request: As part of a concerted regional response to the
current flood emergency, UN agencies (UNHCR, WFP, UNICEF, FAO, WHO) in
the three affected countries - Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia - are
finalizing submissions to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF),
administered by OCHA, for emergency support in the sectors of food and
nutrition, protection, health, water, refugee and livestock. The
regional application for CERF funds is being coordinated by the OCHA
Regional Office in Nairobi.

21. Coordination: The UN Resident Coordinator's Office and OCHA support
UN coordination and work in partnership with the Office of the President
and the Kenya Red Cross to support national coordination. The main
coordination structure is the Rapid-Onset Disaster Committee.

22. OCHA will release an Emergency Cash Grant amounting to USD 52,500 in
order to support the Kenyan Red Cross's work in public health, i.e.
malaria prevention, diarrhoea control and water treatment. The funds
will be used to provide the necessary emergency health kits, mosquito
nets and water purification tablets.

23. OCHA will deploy an UNDAC team to Nairobi to support the UN country
team in the flood response.

24. As part of their emergency operation, WFP has food stocks in the
affected districts and has provided food aid to flood-affected
communities in Kwale (Coast Province). WFP has also continued food
distributions in the parts of Dadaab area (North-eastern Province) where
it has access. However, with the severe difficulties in access, the
provision of food to the affected populations is facing severe
constraints.

25. UNICEF has sent medical kits and chlorine to the Ministry of Health
on the coast and is attempting to get chlorine to Dadaab.

26. UNHCR and its partner agencies in the Dadaab area such as UNICEF,
WFP, GTZ (the German 'Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit') and
CARE are involved in emergency food distributions, mobile clinics and
water rehabilitation for the refugees.

27. Several NGOs, including World Vision, CARITAS and OXFAM are making
assessments in their areas of activity in order to initiate their
emergency response.

MAIN CONCERNS AND PRIORITY AREAS

Weather forecast:

28. The weather predictions over the next 2-3 weeks are threatening.
Above normal rain is expected in the Provinces of Rift Valley, Central
Highlands, North-eastern and Western. Severe rains in southern Ethiopia
will have an impact on northern Kenya. Rains in Central Highlands
Province will inundate areas in the surrounding plains.

Health:

29. The main health concerns will be a drastic increase in malaria
cases, a rapid increase in diarrhoeal disease (including cholera) due to
water contamination, increased malnutrition and respiratory infections
because of inadequate shelter. Emergency health provision will have to
be supported particularly in malaria treatment and control and
diarrhoeal treatment.

Logistics/ Access:

30. The Government, UN agencies and the Kenya Red Cross are facing acute
logistical constraints with so many roads rendered impassable in the
coast and north-eastern parts of the country.

31. There is an apparent shortage of both fixed wing and helicopter air
capacity in Kenya.

32. If the floodwaters do not subside, then WFP will need to use more
aircraft to move food to stranded populations. This will be an expensive
and time-consuming exercise.

33. Key infrastructure will need emergency repairs, particularly
bridges.

Fear of breaking dykes:

34. UNHCR is acutely concerned that the dykes at the Dagahaley refugee
camp in Dadaab (Garissa District) are in a precarious state due to the
flooding. If the dykes collapse because of the weight of water, the camp
would be completely flooded. Possible refugee re-location exercises may
have to be considered if the flooding worsens in Dadaab.

Shortage of stock in non-food items

35. There are serious shortages of stocks in non-food items in Kenya, in
particular blankets, plastic sheetings and household utensils. These
will need to be replenished, which is a priority for the Kenya Red Cross
as well as for UNHCR.

Shelter, Sanitation and safe water

36. Shelter, sanitation and the provision of safe water supplies is
essential, in particular in the three refugee camps in the Dadaab area.
Agencies such as UNICEF will be working with Government counterparts in
containing water contamination in both Dadaab and other flood-affected
parts of Kenya.

Coordination

37. The Rapid-onset Disaster Committee will be meeting at least twice a
week to ensure an adequate flow of information and, as part of its work,
the Committee will prepare an updated emergency response plan for the
next two months.

Telephone: +41-22-917 12 34
Fax: +41-22-917 00 23
E-mail: ochagva@un.org

In case of emergency only: Tel +41-22-917 20 10

Desk Officers
  GVA - Mr. Alfred Nabeta
    E-mail: nabeta@un.org
    Direct Tel +41-22-917 22.40
  GVA - Mr. Christophe Schmachtel
    E-mail: schmachtel@un.org
    Direct Tel +41-22-917-1684
  NYC - Ms Olla Hassan
    E-mail: hassano@un.org
    Direct Tel +1-212-967-4331

Press contact:
  GVA - Ms. Elizabeth Byrs, Tel. +41-22-917-2653
  NYC - Ms. Stephanie Bunker, Tel. +1-917-367-5126

OCHA Kenya
  Mr. Andrew Timpson
    E-mail: timpsona@un.org
    Direct Tel: +254-20-762-5155

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