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In November 2023, Severe flooding recently struck several counties in Kenya due to unusually active El Niño rains, resulting in the loss of at least 71 lives and the displacement of thousands. 

Vast stretches of farmland were submerged, and numerous livestock perished. Thousands of homes were either washed away or left marooned.

The hardest-hit areas were the arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL) where pastoralism drove the local economy and sustained livelihoods. 

Children were particularly vulnerable because these regions were still recuperating from a devastating drought, the worst in 40 years, which had led to a surge in cases of child malnutrition.

The situation deteriorated as the rains persisted. Thirty-six out of the country's 47 counties were affected. Garissa, Isiolo, Mandera, Marsabit, Samburu, Tana River, and Wajir counties, along with the coastal counties of Kilifi and Mombasa, were particularly impacted by riverine floods, flash floods, and landslides.

As of the latest report, at least 95,772 households were affected, with 45,083 of them displaced. Approximately 13,108 households were in 96 displacement camps set up in temporary shelters and evacuation centers, mostly in schools and social halls, where available.

The flooding destroyed over 17,600 acres of farmland and led to the reported deaths of more than 13,400 livestock. Furthermore, water and sanitation infrastructure suffered damage, disrupting normal service and access to water sources. 

The supply chain for medical, nutritional, and non-medical commodities, including routine program items, was severely impacted. Roads were damaged, hindering emergency medical referrals, and prolonged power outages in health facilities exacerbated care gaps for individuals with chronic illnesses.

The Omeriye Foundation identified Tana River county as one of the worst hit by the floods, after River Tana burst its banks. Our volunteers in the field listed a few areas within the county where vulnerable communities' homes were marooned by floodwater. 

The situation was particularly desperate at Madogo Total station, Mororo, and the Tana River bridge where the river burst its banks.

Our foundation wrote a request letter to our partners, seeking funds to rent rescue boats that would go directly to the crisis areas and move the families to safe zones that had been designated by the county government. 

The rescue boats had to be rented, transported to Tana River and fueled. We were able to rescue a total of 100 people in the following villages:

1. Mazinin
2. Munguveni
3. Kinyadu
4. Bubesa A
5. Bubesa B
6. Mikameni
7. Peponi