Representatives from aid groups assess areas north of the capital Nairobi on first Disaster Response flight.
MAF’s first survey flight following the devastating floods in Kenya has gathered information on one of the worst-affected regions.
The Disaster Response was launched after heavy rains and flash floods left more than 103 people dead, 29 injured, 21 people missing, 150,365 people (30,073 families) displaced and nearly 191,000 affected across the country, according to the National disaster Operations Centre in Kenya.
On May 9, the first survey flight left Wilson Airport in Nairobi and went north towards the Rift Valley where severe flooding and landslides had been reported. Flooding was visible around Lake Naivasha. The aircraft then circled around Lake Baringo Province where severe flooding was again visible around the lake shores. The aircraft overflew the following main locations: Gichiengo, Lake Naivasha, Lake Baringo, Laiipia National Reserve, Kiambere Dam, Gitaru Dam, Masigna Dam and Tana.
Sam Baguma, who is managing MAF’s Disaster Response, was joined on the flight by representatives from Anglican Development Services Kenya, DanChurchAid a Danish aid organisation and Scofield Associates, researchers working for other relief groups.
He said the survey provided a valuable insight into the after-effects of the flooding to help partner organisations target their response.
“The reason we actually chose that particular routing was, in communicating with our partners, they told us that these were the areas that had been greatly affected. We wanted to make sure that we take the route that has been in the news, that people are talking about, so we can demonstrate what is going on,” Sam said.
Communicating with our partners, they told us that these were the areas that had been greatly affected.
“We took off and went north towards the Rift Valley and what we could see was on the escarpments of the Rift Valley around Kijabe, the mud slides were quite visible.
“We could clearly see that those communities around the Rift Valley were greatly affected.”
As the MAF aircraft circled around lakes and dams in the region, Sam said there was clear evidence of the high water levels and the effects of flooding.
“We saw that yes the rivers were quite full but the waters had begun to recede. A lot of communities had been evacuated out of the flood plains so we could not see the displaced people along the paths we were surveying,” Sam added.
“But there were visible signs of severe flooding, because we are coming into this period two weeks from when the original flooding happened, so some of these areas would have been reached.”
The detailed information and images gathered on the survey flight will help aid organisations and government to plan their next steps in the aftermath of the flooding.
For more on MAF's Disaster Response click here