Emergency preparedness of floodplain communities in Zubaku And Raya Location, Tana And Garissa Districts

Abstract

This study focuses on emergency preparedness for excessive flooding in Tana and Garissa districts. The objectives of the study were; to examine the characteristics of district administration's emergency preparedness strategy in the wake of excessive floods, to identify factors that promote rapid reaction in the immediate aftermath of excessive floods; how this response is structured to both the emergency and long term and identify how the community completes the transition from emergency assistance to rehabilitation and reconstruction. The data for the study was gathered through a combination of methods. A questionnaire was administered to 294 households and focus group discussions held with members of the District Steering Group in Tana and Garissa Districts. In depth interviews were also carried out with key informants for purposes of supplementation and validation of survey information. Further desk research was used. The study posed the following research questions: • Are there flood control procedures in place at a district level? • If yes, how do they affect the impact of excessive floods on the targeted population? • The central question from which all these stem therefore is "Is the administration in Tana River District prepared to manage excessive floods? Two complementary theoretical frameworks guided this study namely the theory of social problems and disaster crunch and release model. The social problem theory is based on the assumption that problem solving in society is essentially a social activity. Since flood disaster management is based on careful planning covering the entire disaster spectrum of prevention, mitigation, response and relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction it is very much a human activity. It is based on how social agents create and use boundaries to demarcate that which is dangerous to the community. This is crucial in explaining the level of preparedness that they have toward disasters.The disaster crunch model helped to specify the variables to be explored in the study and show how the variables relate in order to make a community exposed to excessive flooding. The disaster release model specified the actions to be investigated in order to measure ~r the disaster responders were helping the community progress away from exposure to excessive flooding. The major findings of this study were: 1. The characteristics of district administration's emergency preparedness strategy in the wake of excessive floods, include oral based vulnerability assessments mainly sourced from village headmen, the field assessments of extent of damage and the migration of people to higher grounds. 2. The local authorities are ill equipped to handle the emergency that excessive floods occasion and the locally based non-governmental organizations have mandates that target relief and rehabilitation of drought victims. 3. The factors that prompt rapid reaction in the immediate aftermath of flooding include the physical migration of people, the extent of flooding and the increased threat of disease. 4. The community has not managed to fully complete the transition from emergency to reconstruction as they still receive food aid.