In just two days, the River Tana has climbed from its normal level of about 2.6 metres to 4.6 metres, and families who have lost homes and harvests to its floods before are being told not to wait for the water to reach their doors.

At least 700 people living along the flood-prone river in Garissa and Tana River counties are expected to move to higher ground ahead of the heavy rains forecast for the coming weeks, The Star reports. National and county agencies, the Kenya Red Cross and other humanitarian groups have switched on emergency plans in both counties.

"We don't want to have any casualties in the event of floods, as has been the case in the past," said Garissa County Commissioner John Cheruiyot, adding that his team was "well prepared" for any eventuality.

The villages most at risk

Officials have named the riverside settlements they consider most exposed:

  • Garissa: Bula Punda, Bula Sheikh, Galbet, Windsor, Bula Komor and Iftin
  • Tana River, downstream: Mororo, Bakuyu and Ziwani

Residents are being alerted through chiefs and other local administrators, public barazas, vernacular radio stations and bulk text messages. Ward disaster risk management committees have also been activated in pastoralist areas.

Boats, camps and a call to WFP

Evacuation sites have been identified in every sub-county, including five main centres in Garissa town. The national administration is working with the county and relief agencies to supply food and other aid to families who move, while health, water and livestock resources have been mapped and placed on standby.

Kenya Red Cross Garissa coordinator Daud Ahmed said the agency had pre-positioned rescue boats and relief supplies. "The signs of floods, which often result in displacement and destruction of property, are already there," he said.

Ahmed warned that the river can burst its banks even without local rain, because water released from the Seven Forks dams upstream when they are full flows straight down the Tana.

Garissa County emergency coordinator Mohamed Dubow said the county's emergency operations centres were active and working with the National Drought Management Authority and the Kenya Meteorological Department. If the El Nino rains turn out to be heavy, he said, the county will formally ask the World Food Programme for air support to reach settlements cut off by water.

Warnings that went unheeded before

The alert follows earlier warnings. In September, Water Cabinet Secretary Eric Mugaa told residents of Garissa and Tana River to prepare to relocate, saying heavy rain in the Aberdares and on Mount Kenya could fill the Seven Forks reservoirs and force their spillways open, according to Kenyans.co.ke and The Eastleigh Voice.

The stakes are familiar. Earlier this year, floods along the Tana displaced thousands of families, submerged villages and cut off roads, and in past seasons floodwaters have swept away crops just weeks before harvest. Some residents have in the past refused to leave, saying they cannot farm on higher ground, and officials are now urging them to move their families, livestock and valuables early.

Photos: The Star / Stephen Astariko (swollen River Tana on November 4, 2026; Kenya Red Cross Garissa coordinator Daud Ahmed briefing the press). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.