This document discusses using mobile phone technology for disaster management in Kenya. It defines disasters and classifies them into six categories: natural disasters, explosions/terrorist attacks, substandard construction, fires, massacres, and transport disasters. It notes several challenges with disaster response in Kenya, including long response times. The document proposes a mobile app and USSD-based system called #999 that would allow Kenyans to quickly report emergencies and receive updates from authorities to help address these challenges. It discusses necessary partnerships with government agencies, NGOs, mobile operators, and others to implement this system.
2. A disaster is defined as an event or series of events, which give rise to
casualties and/or damage or loss of property, infrastructure, essential
services or means of livelihoods on a scale which is beyond the normal
capacity of the affected community to cope with unaided.
This event or events disrupt the normal patterns of life (or ecosystem)
and extraordinary emergency interventions are required to save and
preserve human lives and/or the environment.
What is a disaster ?
3. Disaster are normally classified in 2
Natural Disasters and manmade
disasters, however in this presentation
disasters will be classified into 6 , to
help facilitate, expound and for easier
comprehension
4. Main focus
Natural
disasters
Floods
Drought
Explosions
terrorist
attacks
Car and truck
explosions
Subs-
standard
construction
Fires
Accidental
fires
Arson fires
Electrical
Faults fires
Massacres
Conflicts over
land
Politically and
Ethnical
based
violence
Conflicts due
to economic
activities
transport
disasters
Road
Accidents
damaged
infrastructure
Biological
disasters
Epidemics
Biological
poisoning
5. Natural Disasters
Floods in Kenya are actually an occurring natural disaster in Kenya . The first
hazard witnessed in Kenya was the El-nino floods in 1997/1998. The
hazards and impacts of this were: loss of life of human and livestock,
disrupted socio-economic activities due to the extensive damage to
property, infrastructure and communication facilities. The floods were also
associated with land degradation, increased soil erosion with the
consequent silting of hydropower dams and erosion of riverbanks, which
affected water intake facilities and river gauging facilities.
April-May 2003 and 2004 floods Kenya experienced massive flooding in the
Western Province at Budalang’i and the lower reaches of the Nzoia River
and in Nyanza Province at Ahero within the lower Nyando River basin.
Further, the heavy rains that caused the flooding led to water supply
disruption in urban and rural centres and washing away of river gauging
facilities constructed along the rivers.
Flash Floods of 2013-2016 April/May :Flash floods have been experienced
from 2013-2014 during the long rain season, it has been estimated that over
200 people have lost their lives ,over 5,000 persons have been displaced ,
extensive damage to infrastructure (roads(Nairobi)buildings (major cities
)bridges),lose of livestock and causing landslides to hilly areas with the
worst hit areas being Nairobi, Murang’a, Tana River,Turukana, Narok,
Mombasa, Bungoma, and Nyamira counties
FLOODS
Drought
Drought in Kenya is experience in the arid and semi-arid
parts of the country. Mostly experienced in Northern Rift
region (Turkana county),Marsabit county, Mandera,
wanjir , kitui and Makwueni counties especially during the
dry seasons .This leads to decrease in agricultural and
livestock products in this places . Prices of this commodity
increase , making the economic growth of the country to
plunge.
Drought prone areas
Flood prone areas
6. This occurs mainly due to accidents and explosive devices planted
in vehicles . Over the past 5 years , car explosions have been on the
increase and the most surprising event being a car bomb planted in
a car at Pangani Police Station, Kenya killing 4 people . This was
claimed by a local cell of theAl-shabaab militia group. Other cause
of truck explosion is a collision between fuel tankers and private or
public vehicles or collision of fuel tanker due to loss of control.This
has lost more than 100 lives over the years , with innocent by
standers going towards the fuel tanker trying to siphon fuel so as to
sell later on being engulfed in flames .
Explosions
Terrorist attacks
Terrorist attacks has been on the rise since 2011 when operation Linda Nchi started , with Al-shabaab Militia group seeking retaliation from
Kenyan Authorities.
Just a quick preview on top 10 worst terrorist attacks in Kenya:
• August 7th 1998 US embassy bombing in Nairobi by Al- qeada is up to date is the worst terrorist attack in Kenya . 213 people were
killed while at least 4,000 people were injured .
•Garissa University College Massacre byAl shabaab happening on April 2, 2015 where Several gun men attacked a local university at the
wee hours of the morning at least 147 students died and thousands were injured (#147isnotjustanumber)
•Westgate Mall Siege on September 21st,2013 where four Al-shabaab gunmen stormed theWestgate mall in Nairobi, and engaged the
Kenya police in a siege for nearly four days . At least 67 people died and hundreds injured
• Mpeketoni attacks which happened between 15th-17th June 2014 where dozen s of Al-shabaab militia launched a brazen terrorist
attack against Mpeketoni village in Lamu County killing at least 60 people and injuring and displacing many .
•Mandera quarry attack on December2, 2015 .Al-shabaab launched an deadly attack on quarry workers killing 36 people .
•2014 Mandera bus shooting on 22nd November,2015 where Al shabaab militia group attacked a bus travelling from Mandera to Nairobi
Killing at least 28 passengers .
•Paradise hotel bombing in 2002 at Mombasa, Kikambala. Killing 13 people and injuring 80 people
•Twin blast s that occurred in Gikomba Market on Friday, May 16 2015 killing at least at least 10 people and injured dozens more.
•And many more attacks not mentioned
Nairobi Eastland's area is the most affected by sub-
standard construction, in areas such as Huruma, Mathare
North and Kayole. In Low class areas of Kayole, Huruma,
etc, its nearly 100% of sub standard construction .This
applies to other parts of the country among them Busia .
With the recent disaster in Kenya being the two huruma
building which collapsed in the month of May, 2016. this
buildings have ended up killing at least 50 people
Car and truck explosions Sub-standard construction
7. Arson fires
Fires Electrical FaultsAccidental fires
This are mostly fires caused by accidents .
Among the most atrocious fires are the
Sinai fire where a gasket of the Kenyan
pipeline gave in and 19M CC of oil flowed
right into the dam that flows right into
Sinai. its estimated around 300 people lost
their lives .
Faza fire in 2009 started when an elderly
woman left a jiko unattended and caused
more than 430 homes and around 2,500
people were displaced .
Electrical faults is the greatest cause of fire
disasters in Kenya. Electrical faults is the cause of
most slum fires in Kenya due to overloading or
substandard electrical connection.
However , electrical fault fires have also been
seen in other places among them , the Nakumatt
Downtown fire where a spark ignited the
generator causing a fire that burned for days with
more than 29 people losing their lives and
hundreds of millions in property lost .
The other example is the Jomo Kenyatta
international Airport international departures unit
fire .which was ruled due to electrical faultsThe
unit was completely destroyed and fortunately
no one was injured .
Arson fires in Kenya are
experienced mostly in
secondary schools when
students want to air their
grievances to the schools
administration . Most of the
time , Students lose their lives
while there is immerse damage
to property.
Slum fires
Airport fire
8. Massacres
Conflicts over land
Conflicts due to
economic activities
Political & ethnical
based violence
Conflicts over land ,are the norm for
Kenya pastoral communities and some
times with government and private
developers.
An example of this conflict is the
Maasai –Kitengela fight in 2015 which
left Kitengela town a blaze .
Another example is the riots by Maasai
in Narok who block the highway for
days in demonstration on conflicts on
land , this in turns hinders socio-
economic activities in the area and
also prevent tourists from visiting the
Maasai Mara/Serengeti National park.
However conflict over land can also be
caused by different tribes fighting for
that land . In 1992, 5000 people were
killed and another 75,000 displaced in
the Rift Valley Province, with the town
of Molo being an epicenter of the
violence. The conflict was primarily
between the Kalenjin and Kikuyu
communities with Land ownership
cited as one of key reasons for the
conflict.
The year 2005 witnessed an insurgency
in the Mount Elgon District of the
Western province of Kenya between
the different tribes over the land
Most of the ethnical based
violence in Kenya is political
motivated . Kenya has seen
politically motivated ethnical
violence after the 1991-1992
multiparty elections where
thousands of different tribes
were displaced and others
killed by dominant tribe. After
the 1997 the same happened
at the Kenyan Coast .
However, the abominable
violence in Kenya happened
after the 2007 elections
where Kenya was completely
divided ethnically.This saw
more than 10,000 people
internally displaced , socio
economic activities disrupted,
and thousands killed.The
country has not yet recovered
from this violence
In 2012, clashes over cattle
between the ethnic groups in
Samburu District resulted in
the deaths of over 40
people including police
officers sent to quell the
violence.
In 2012–2013, there was
ethnic violence among the
Orma and Pokomo group in
theTana River District
who have historically fought
over grazing, farmland and
water.
Later last year and early this
year has seen Samburu and
Turukana tribes raid cattle's
from each other who has
caused at least 10 lives
9. Transport disasters
Damaged infrastructureRoad Accidents
Flooded
roads
Power station
flooded
Gastric road
accident
Road
accident
Road accidents in Kenya are on the
decrease since the formation of the
National Roads and Safety authority.
Atrocious road accidents in Kenya
most of the time causes loss of lives
or in many causes people are left
injured and stranded damage to
property.
When accidents in Kenya occur on
two way roads like the Nairobi- Nyeri
highway especially at Murang’a
teachers college , or the Nairobi-
Nakuru highway or the Nairobi
Naivasha highway via Maimahui, it
disrupts socio-economic activities by
causing traffic that affects this
whole highway for more than 5
hours in roads connecting two or
more towns
Damaged infrastructure
due to mostly floods and
land slides causes
extensive damage to
property .
Damage infrastructure e.g.
flooded roads and flooded
power stations leads to
lose of life , disruption of
socio-economic activities
and damage to more
property
11. DISASTER STATISTICS
Disasters in Kenya are responded by the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS)
with the help of the local authorities and good Samaritans . According to the
KRCS report of 2014 , Armed conflict, fires, biological disasters, road
accidents (transport disasters) among others were on the rise
12. PROBLEM
From the previous page; disasters are on the rise and most of the time the
first responders in the wake of a disaster are good Samaritans. Most of
the time they are not sure on what to do and watch from a distance as
they try to contact the local authorities .
Response time from the local authorities can take up-to an hours
depending on the accessibility of the area. Getting the necessary disaster
management authority in Kenya also takes some time.This in turn causes
more damage and significant lost of lives.
Another issue comes in when relevant authorities involved in rescue
operations cannot find the person who are injured or in the particular
disaster area .This significantly reduces the chances of someone being
found alive.
Lastly , information shared in Kenya in the wake of disaster is done by
social media . Sometimes it is not accurate therefore , causing more
panic. Moreover, there is limited information shared to all Kenyans on
what you should do in the wake of a particular disaster .
13. SOLUTION
The government of Kenya has appointed a National
Disaster Operation Center has developed a National
Disaster policy.There is a gap in the mobile and
satellite disaster management system.
However, there is need to include MNOs(Mobile
Network Operators)into the national disaster response
team to solve the problems seen above
In Kenya, approximately 60% of people own mobile
phones .
What if , we use this to our advantage as Kenyans
14. Imagine if Kenyans had a simplified system to
report to the police and get simplified help
from the emergency services , this would
reduce the response time , promote easier,
faster and efficient services using a mobile
phone .
16. What is ?
999 is normally the number dialed in case of an
emergency in Kenya.
#999 is an emergency service mobile program
that uses an app for smart phone users , USSD
and messaging for normal users to send distress
calls and information to relevant authorities and
manage disasters and pinpoint the disaster
location to help in rescue missions and paint a
bulls eye in what areas to avoid.
17. ITS INTEND
#999 works using a couple of platforms of and
interfaces with a couple of apps
Send distress calls to the Kenyan Police
Link to emergency service providers i.e. the Kenyan
Red cross, ambulance services , county fire providers
Uses satellite imaginary to mark save havens and blind
spots on the app
Give round the clock updates and advices in reference
to the verified information from local news outlet and
the Kenyan police outlet
To give information on how to deal with an emergency
situation .
18. Partnerships
For this program to work it will needs
endorsements, partnerships and
collaboration from the different
organizations
19. The Kenyan Government especially the National disaster operation
center
• Established in 1998 , and its main duties are
• Co-ordinate and control all disaster response efforts
• To act as a command center for all communication and information relating to response
operations and liaise with responsible ministries on National response efforts
Kenya Police
• This are Kenya local authorities , and normally they are Kenyans first call in the wake of a
disaster
• Verify all information reported .
• Liaise with other government agencies and humanitarian societies to provide the best
response to the particular emergency
All humanitarian societies especially the Kenya Red Cross Society
• Kenya Red Cross Society has been hands on at the fore front dealing with disasters in
Kenya by providing emergency evacuations ,first aid and blood drives .The have also
been very instrumental at providing relevant, useful information on-going disasters and
fund raising in the wake of a disaster example being Kenyans for Kenyans
20. CommunicationAuthority of Kenya and the Kenya ICT authority
• This is the bodies in Kenya that manage all telecommunication and ICT policies
and regulation in Kenya including USF
• The USF would be used to cover the cost of rolling out the mobile disaster
program
• The two bodies would also regulate how MNOs should provide information
Ministry of health
• This provides relevant life saving information on what to do n the cause of a
disaster
Private- public partnerships
• Partnerships by MNOs e.g. Safaricom, Orange and Airtel to offer this service free
of charge to the public . Once information is relayed to the police and is verified ,
they would send this information to various MNOs to relay to its citizens
• Partnerships with private hospitals and specialized clinics to offer medical
services to the injured during a disaster
Kenyan Government especially county commissioners
• To endorse the program especially in the rural areas where deputy county
commissioners, deputy Commissioner Officers and chiefs carry a lot of weight .
21. I believe when we as Kenya create policy and
regulations that would support m-disaster
program (#999) using the collaboration of the
various bodies and organizations to
implement this policies and regulation , will
be a step closer of saving as many lives as
possible and minimizing the damage caused
in the wake of a disaster. If Kenyans 4
Kenyans and #weareone is anything to go by,
I believe #999 will be a success.
Conflicts over land ,are
The norm for Kenya pastoral communities and some times with government and private developers.
An example of this conflict is the Maasai –Kitengela fight in 2015 which left Kitengela town a blaze . Another example is the riots by Maasai in Narok who block the highway for days in demonstration on conflicts on land , this in turns hinders soci0- economic activities in the area and also prevent tourists from visiting the Maasai Mara/Serengeti National park
