Nairobi County activates emergency command centre ahead of El Niño rains

Nairobi County has activated a multi-agency emergency command centre at Charter Hall, City Hall, as it steps up preparations for the expected October–December rains and tests its disaster-response systems through a live simulation.

The facility will serve as the Crisis Communication Centre and Emergency Operations Command Post during Operation Okoa Maisha, a joint disaster simulation exercise aimed at testing the county’s readiness to respond to floods and other emergencies.

Governor Johnson Sakaja said the command centre would provide a single coordination point for all agencies involved in the city’s emergency response.

“This Charter Hall will be the one command centre for all. We need one report and one communication. As we do so, let us all unite and do our job together. What should be our charge is to save lives and property and to work diligently,” Sakaja said.

The exercise brings together Nairobi City County, the National Disaster Operations Centre (NDOC), Kenya Red Cross, Kenya Coast Guard, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and other emergency response agencies.

The activation of the command centre is part of Sakaja’s “One County, One Plan, One Command” approach, under which national and county agencies are expected to coordinate their response to emergencies through a unified system.

The simulation will test the movement of information from the central command centre to field teams and residents, as well as coordination among agencies handling security, rescue, humanitarian assistance, roads, drainage and emergency management.

Information from the various teams will be consolidated at Charter Hall to give responders a common picture of an unfolding emergency and allow them to coordinate deployments more effectively.

Sakaja has directed teams to accelerate drainage and flood-mitigation works in known hotspots, including the clearance, desilting and widening of waterways and the removal of structures obstructing drainage corridors. Additional earth-moving equipment has also been deployed to vulnerable areas.

“We cannot wait for the rains to come and then start responding. We must prepare in advance, identify the risks, clear our drainage systems and make sure our teams are ready to respond when called upon,” he said.

The county has established emergency hotlines 1508 and 1190, while evacuation drop-off points and shelters have been identified in preparation for possible flooding.

Authorities have also been directed to facilitate the movement of residents living in high-risk areas along the Mathare, Ngong and Nairobi rivers to safer locations.

Sakaja said the measures were aimed at protecting lives rather than displacing communities.

“Occupying riparian land is non-negotiable. You must move. We do not want you to die,” he said.

The simulation is expected to provide a real-world test of Nairobi’s emergency-response chain, from the initial alert and deployment of responders to evacuation, rescue, communication and coordination.

The exercise comes as the county intensifies preparations for the October–December rainy season, with authorities seeking to address vulnerabilities in flood-prone areas before heavy rains begin.

The Charter Hall command centre will remain the focal point for coordinating information and response efforts, with the county seeking to ensure that agencies operate from a common plan and respond through a unified command structure.