Residents and stakeholders from along the Mathare River community met on 24 September 2026 at the Youth Prinua Social Innovation Hall in Baba Dogo, Ruaraka, Nairobi, to discuss flood preparedness and agree on practical actions. From 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the discussion brought together community experience, institutional knowledge and lessons from previous flooding to examine the risks facing households, infrastructure, drainage systems, the river and the wider environment.
Participants reflected on the 2024 floods, describing displacement, property damage, blocked drainage, sanitation problems, polluted water, erosion and disruption of livelihoods and essential services. The discussion also looked at risks that can worsen during flooding, including disease, unsafe movement, communication breakdown, power outages, protection concerns and difficulties reaching affected households. Rather than treating flooding as a single river problem, participants linked the impacts to drainage, waste management, settlement patterns, environmental degradation and preparedness at household and community level.
The meeting then moved from identifying problems to discussing what can be done before the next emergency. Participants proposed clearing blocked drainage and waterways, monitoring flood hotspots and river water levels, strengthening vulnerable river banks, securing unsafe trenches and manholes, improving early warning and information sharing, identifying evacuation centres, increasing household water storage, supporting community clean ups, planting trees and improving waste management. They also emphasized the need for clear coordination between government agencies, civil society, community groups, schools, faith institutions, private actors and other local stakeholders.
The message from the meeting was practical: preparedness has to start before the water rises. The priorities identified by participants now provide a basis for a coordinated local action plan covering early warning, drainage, evacuation, emergency response, environmental management, data collection and longer term river and catchment management. The next step is to agree on responsibilities, locations, timelines and resources so that the actions discussed can move from the flip charts into the community.