FINAL
NARRATIVE
REPORT
MAY -DECEMBER 2013
Enhanced Coordination
Capacity for Response and
Recovery from Floods
I. INTRODUCTION
1. Project Background
The months of March-April-May (MAM) normally classified as long rains season is characterized by
enhanced rainfall in most parts of the country. The 2013 long rains season commenced in the first
week of March and caused flooding in Western, Coastal and Upper Eastern regions resulting in loss
of lives, damage to property, infrastructure and displacement of thousands of people. The
documented losses depicted that the country’s level of preparedness to mitigate effects of floods
were inadequate. Reports from the Kenya Red Cross (KRC) and UNOCHA indicated that more than
106,429 persons (19,161 households) were displaced, with a total of 95 floods associated deaths
and 19 injuries. Infrastructure including roads, bridges, schools, health facilities and irrigation
schemes were damaged by floods. Destroyed arable farm acreage was 13,985 with over 77 cows,
2,867 goats and 500 chicken reported dead. The most affected areas were Western, Rift valley,
Upper Eastern and Coastal regions.
In Kenya, perennial flooding incidents have been characterized by inadequate coordination and
conflicting data on losses incurred, and this was no exception in the initial response phase following
March –May floods this year (2013. This resulted in wastage of resources through duplication of
services. UNDP, through consultations with government, developed a six month project with
funding of USD 100,000 from Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) to support the
government in strengthening coordination and conduct assessment on the extent and impact of the
floods situation in Kenya.
2. Project Objectives
The objective of this project was to enhance coordination capacity for response and recovery from
floods by strengthening the government coordination mechanisms, intervention strategies and data
collection. The aim was not only to support data collection and information management in regards
to the floods, but to also formulate a floods recovery programme/plan.
The following key activities were identified to achieve the objectives of the project:
1) Support initial multi-sectoral assessments to determine the extent of the impact of floods and
interventions;
2) Support and strengthen ongoing coordination efforts both at National and County levels;
3) Support formulation of a floods recovery programme.
3. Project Duration
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Initially, it was envisioned that the project would be implemented within six months from 1st May,
2013 to 31st October, 2013. However in order to ensure completion of pending activities, the
project was extended until December, 2013.
4. Project Structure and Management
The project was managed and implemented jointly by UNDP and the National Disaster Operation
Centre (NDOC), together with support from Ministry of State for Special Programmes and
stakeholders in disaster response including the Kenya Red cross Society (KRCS) and UNOCHA. The
stakeholders were involved in carrying out assessment exercises and supporting government in
coordination and response towards floods control, mitigation and management.
II. KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
1. Support initial multi-sectoral assessments to determine the extent of the impact of floods
and interventions
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Multi-sectoral teams comprising five to seven people drawn from government and other
lead responding agencies and led by NDOC conducted initial rapid assessment (KIRA) in six
regions of Kenya. They included Nyatike (Homabay), Kisumu, Narok, Magarini, Tana River
and Muranga. The findings of the assessment informed the type of life saving interventions
in the affected areas.
UNDP recruited a consultant to lead a team of experts drawn from government and other
agencies in conducting a national floods impact assessment. The team carried out a post
disaster assessment in Turkana, Baringo and, Garissa.Other areas where this exercise was
done included Nyatike, Kisumu, Tana Delta, Magarini,Murang’a and Narok. The Information
gathered from this assessment was instrumental for formulation of National mitigation and
early recovery programme.
A validation workshop to consolidate the assessment findings was conducted at Hotel
Cathay in Nakuru. The outcome of the assessment was the impact assessment report that is
ratified by all stakeholders.
2. Support and strengthen ongoing coordination efforts both at National and County levels
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Supported NDOC in organizing weekly inter-agency coordination meeting to review
progress of the interventions and continuous sharing of daily flooding updates from the
field via email contact. This reduced conflicting information on the statistics of people
affected by floods.
Supported NDOC in implementing workshop on strengthening coordination and data
collection for departmental heads at county level as well as representatives of agencies in
seven counties that were adversely affected by flooding. The forum was important for
sharing various experiences and learning point for best practices in the event of sudden
onset disasters.
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3. Support formulation of a floods recovery programme

National Floods impact assessment was conducted and recommendations for early recovery
and mitigation proposed. This exercise was conducted by UNDP recruited consultant and
DRM project staff. The report has been compiled and plans for publications are under way.
a) Supported government in printing and binding of 500 copies of government initiated
National Action Plan on Floods Control, Mitigation and Management.
b) Supported dissemination workshop for the report on National floods impact assessment
and early recovery programme recommendation.
III. CONSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES
Although this project was initiated through emergency funds, the realization of effective
coordination and improved cohesion in data from the field could not be fully achieved in the short
span of time within which the project was implemented. A long-term plan to support government in
coordination is necessary given the glaring coordination gaps observed over years. While effort to
address this gap were addressed by training of focal points from the six counties that were
adversely affected by floods, the remaining 41 counties require capacity building to ensure
effective coordination and data collection whenever floods occur.
Moreover, it was not possible for organizations to participate in coordination meetings on a regular
basis given competing interests and constrained staff. In addition, most organizations based at field
level could not participate in the meetings since the meetings were held at national level. Similar
meetings need to be executed at the county level in order to strengthen coordination at that level.
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS
The current devolved governance structure presents an opportunity to refocus and strengthen
coordination capacity for County and Sub County governments. Activities that could influence the
anticipated change include:
 Strengthening existing disaster coordination units and support establishment of forty seven
(47) county coordination units;
 Sensitizing County government officials including Governors, County representatives and
community leaders on the importance of accurate data and effective coordination during
disaster periods;
 Capacity building of all relevant stakeholders on using tools such as the KIRA for collecting
quality data;
 Awareness raising and capacity building on the use of Deslnventar1.
DesInventar is a conceptual and methodological tool for the construction of databases of loss, damage, or
effects caused by emergencies or disasters.
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