Mukuru-Sinai fuel spill and fire disaster Background Nairobi the - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Mukuru-Sinai fuel spill and fire disaster

Background  Nairobi the Capital city of Kenya hosts up to 4.5 Million people during the day and close to 3 Million at night  The population however keeps increasing due to increasing levels of rural – Urban migration as well as natural factors since over 70% of the population is young and within the reproductive age  Poverty and high levels of unemployment in the rural areas are the key factors pushing people to the city in the hope of better jobs and services

Background Continued  The Increase in Population has led to a shortage of cheap housing and contributed to overcrowding and the mushrooming of slums.  It is estimated that over 70% of the Population in Nairobi occupy 30% of the land while the remaining 30% occupy 70% of land.  Most of the Population in Nairobi therefore do not own the houses they live in (there is no ownership) most people therefore see themselves as temporal residents seeking resources to go back and improve their welfare in the rural areas where they belong/own homes. Due to inadequate housing, joblessness and the ever increasing rents,  informal settlements have mushroomed to an extent that is not manageable. Most of them are located along railway lines, road reserves, rivers, industrial areas, on drainage lines etc.

The Mukuru- Sinai disaster  Mukuru-Sinai is one of the informal settlements located in the industrial area, southeast of Nairobi  Most of the housing structures are shanties built of used iron sheets, tins or Carton box material which are highly flammable  The houses are built on waste land, water drainage points and other structures along the polluted river Ngong’ .  River Ngong’ is quite polluted with industrial effluents and sewerage drainage.  The area is characterized by congested housing with no access road for vehicles

An aerial view of Mukuru Sinai

Part of Sinai-No access roads

The fire disaster  12 th September 2011, a spillage of petroleum products occured within the Kenya Pipeline industrial area terminal.  The spillage flowed to the storm water drainage system leading to Mukuru Sinai area.  The residents of Sinai rushed to scoop the fuel, this is was not the first time that the spillage had occurred. Perhaps the magnitude was the difference.  The residents also indicated that they had been scooping diesel in the past and not Petroleum as was the case this time

The fire disaster  After scooping several containers and storing in the houses a fire broke up and spread widely due to the petroleum fumes/Vapour in the air.  About 120 people including children and their mothers were killed while over one hundred are rushed to hospital.  Several houses/ shops and animals were also burnt  The fuel spillage flowed through the storm drainage system into river Ngong.  Most of the residents who had already scooped fuel stored the same in their houses hence the fires spreads very fast.

The fire disaster  Some of the residents caught by the fire dashed into the river to cool down themselves but the petrol fuel which flowed into the river caught fire leading to their death, the situation was made worse by the fact that the river is quite polluted by industrial affluent as well as waste from the slum area.  An alarm was raised and rescue workers rush to the site.

The Response  The community members were the first to respond, however limited knowledge in the management of fire disasters hampers their efforts.  The Kenya Red cross was among the first responders on site, however KRCS does not have fire-fighting equipment hence its efforts are directed towards evacuation of the injured to hospital, and crowd management to avoid further casualties , collecting the dead bodies as well as well as recording the reported missing persons. • The Fire brigade services from allover Nairobi were activated and report on site.

Response continued  However, they did not have immediate access to the site due to lack of roads and had to first bring down some houses to gain access.  Police were called in to provide security as well as control the crowds.  A center was established to offer temporal accommodation to the affected as well as provide other humanitarian assistance.  All patients were referred to Kenyatta National Hospital  Very limited coordination between the various stakeholders on site

Challenges  Rescue efforts were hampered by inaccessible roads and an unruly crowds  Illegal electricity connections posed a further hazard as some of the connections are done through the same storm drainage systems  Retrieving bodies from river Ngong ’ poses a major challenge to the humanitarian workers as the water is heavily polluted with industrial effluents  Challenges of land ownership and squatting hence cant trace occupants

Part of Mukuru Sinai during the disaster

Part of the Crowds Looking on

Challenges Continued  All patients were taken to Kenyatta National Hospital without triaging.  Kenyatta Hospital where patients were referred did not have adequate capacity for burns care (There were few doctors and even fewer bruns specialists) including the required equipment  KRCS brought in Specialized doctors from University of Helsinki through partnership with the Finish Red Cross. Their view was that KNH doctors had adequate knowledge and skills but lacked equipment and a conducive working environment  There was inadequate coordination between the various response arms

Notable Issues There are historical structural issues of poor planning, land grabbing  especially land set aside for public utilization, industrial expansion and road reserves There are historical issues of rural-urban migration. Overcrowding and  unsafe housing in all informal settlements in Nairobi There is very limited Knowledge/Awareness by the Population on disaster prevention and management (Related disaster of fuel siphoning in Schwangan, Kericho and Sidindi) Lack of trauma and injury prevention framework  The enforcement of Environmental laws a major challenge 

Key Lessons/Messages  Countries need the political will and solutions so housing and planning challenges; there is need to provide incentives to builders to follow certain planning codes including relocation of residents to safer areas where basic amenities are properly planned for.  Enforcement of environmental laws needs to be addressed with the seriousness that it deserves especially the political goodwill.  There is need to enhance preparedness within the whole spectrum of disaster management including prevention, response, prehospital care and hospital care  Fire could be an opportunity to rethink about our urban planning and risk management there was a lot of acceptance during this disaster by all stakeholders.  Different arms of response need to be properly coordinated to deliver effective response