When a flood forecast reached its trigger in January 2023, the Zambia Red Cross Society worked with district structures and communities in Kitwe and Kafue to warn residents, identify safe havens and distribute hygiene and shelter items before the water arrived.
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Community Early Action Ahead of Floods in Kitwe and Kafue
General Information
ISIG
The Zambia Red Cross acted on a flood forecast in January 2023 to warn and equip households in Kitwe and Kafue before the water arrived.
The Red Cross’s Early Action Protocol (EAP) for riverine floods, approved in 2020 and linked to a forecast portal connected to river gauge stations, gave a seven-day lead time. After the alert on 22 January 2023, the Red Cross and its partners activated the protocol. Volunteers were trained, vulnerable households were pre-selected, and residents received early warnings by radio, megaphone, mass SMS and house visits. Households received items such as tents, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, chlorine, water containers and soap, and early actions reached over 2,000 households.
Post-distribution monitoring by the Red Cross found 92 per cent of respondents satisfied or very satisfied. A later independent study found problems with crowded distributions and mismatched quantities, and the floods came later and at a lower scale than forecast.
Floods are the hazard that affects the most communities in Zambia, and their frequency and intensity have been rising. Expected impacts include displaced people after house damage, waterborne disease such as cholera, more malaria, and crop losses. The Zambia Red Cross Society developed a flood EAP with Netherlands Red Cross support, approved by the IFRC’s emergency fund in 2020. It uses river discharge forecasts and gives a seven-day lead time for early actions in shelter, water and hygiene, health and food security.
In January 2023 the alert pointed to a high likelihood of flooding in ten districts, and Kitwe and Kafue were assessed as the highest risk. For context, Kitwe is a city of about 662,000 people and Kafue a district of about 220,000 (according to the 2022 census).
The Netherlands Red Cross later commissioned an independent study to learn from the activation.
Needs Addressed
Riverine floods in Kitwe and Kafue threaten homes, water points and livelihoods, and they raise the risk of cholera, diarrhoea and malaria. Residents lived in flood-prone, low-resource settings with blocked drains, overflowing latrines and shallow wells. Acting only after the flood left little time to evacuate, to protect water supplies and to distribute supplies along roads that become impassable. The activation aimed to deliver warning, hygiene and shelter support in the days before the expected peak.
Priority was given to elderly people, children, pregnant women and people with disabilities. Households were pre-selected as the most vulnerable, but the case notes that more households were equally exposed than the support could cover. Recommendations include giving mosquito nets by bed space, not by household, because of cultural norms on how girls and boys sleep.
The activation involved national bodies, including the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit, the Water Resources Management Authority and the Zambia Meteorological Department. District Disaster Management Committees guided the Red Cross on the ground, for example by asking it to work through existing Neighbourhood Health Committees under the Ministry of Health.
The Red Cross had an approved EAP, standard operating procedures and a multi-hazard contingency plan that it had been downscaling to branch level since 2019 through its Preparedness for Effective Response process. It had also identified safe havens in risk areas and trained volunteers.
Poor roads and limited access to some areas slowed early actions, blocked drains cut access to markets, and flooded latrines contaminated shallow wells. The study notes that roads and bridges were later destroyed in the southern floods, which supports acting early.
To make early actions relevant to communities and to use existing community structures in delivering them, through needs assessments, community anticipatory action plans, volunteer mobilisation and feedback on the activation.
Enhanced vulnerability and capacity assessments, community anticipatory action plans, work through Neighbourhood Health Committees and Satellite Disaster Management Committees, volunteer-led house-to-house visits, radio and megaphone messaging, and post-distribution monitoring. The independent study held ten focus groups with committees, volunteers, youth, women, men and elderly groups, plus key informant interviews and transect walks to four vulnerable households.
Community input shaped the needs assessment, the community plans and the evaluation’s recommendations, such as starting warnings earlier and unblocking drains before floods. Decisions on targeting and priorities rested with the Red Cross and district structures. For example, the District Disaster Management Committee decided not to prioritise food, cash and improved toilets, which the initial needs assessment had identified.
Volunteers were trained in early warning, early action, hygiene and disease prevention, and evacuation. The Red Cross also strengthened its own capacity, with a cash preparedness plan, standard operating procedures and community anticipatory action plans that bridge institutional protocols and community capacity. Community leaders said some items, such as mosquito nets and water containers, were still in use months later.
Vulnerable Groups
Governance
Emergency Preparedness
Infrastructure Readiness
Engagement Level
Empowerment Level
Implementation
A pre-agreed protocol activated by a forecast portal linked to river gauge stations.
Use of existing community and health structures for delivery.
Combination of early warning, safe-haven preparation, hygiene and shelter items, and health messaging.
An independent learning study after the activation.
Zambia Red Cross Society, with support from the Netherlands Red Cross and the IFRC’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund.
Since 2019 the Zambia Red Cross has run a structured preparedness programme and developed an EAP for floods. It was also developing an EAP for drought in 2023.
Zambia Red Cross Society staff and volunteers; Netherlands Red Cross; IFRC; Water Resources Management Authority; Zambia Meteorological Department; Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit; District Disaster Management Committees; Ministries of Health and Agriculture; Department of Social Welfare; Neighbourhood Health Committees; a private mobile telecom provider; community members and leaders.
- The flood EAP was approved in 2020, with a forecast trigger, a seven-day lead time and early actions.
- On 22 January 2023, the forecast portal alerted the Red Cross, and the alert was shared with the water and meteorological authorities for verification.
- The technical working group and Movement partners agreed to activate the protocol, and funds were requested from the IFRC.
- District authorities were informed and district disaster structures were activated.
- Volunteers were trained, safe havens were identified and assessed, and vulnerable households were pre-selected.
- Messages on health, hygiene and early warning were broadcast by radio, megaphones and house visits, and the government sent mass SMS in Kitwe.
- Households received tents, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, chlorine, water containers, soap and information materials, with post-distribution monitoring.
- The floods peaked on 2 February in Kitwe and 5 February in Kafue.
- An independent study collected community feedback in September–November 2023.
Emergency funding from the IFRC, trained volunteers and staff, a forecast portal with gauge data, prepositioned household and hygiene items, transport, and coordination with government and a mobile network provider. The study also notes financial flows to the EAP from the government through the water and disaster management bodies.
The protocol set a seven-day lead time for early actions. Activities took place between 22 January and early February 2023, followed by post-distribution monitoring and an independent evaluation in late 2023.
Experience of the Implementing Organisation in DRM
Target Audience
Resources Required
Timeframe & Phases
Participation Results
The Red Cross’s own post-distribution monitoring found 92 per cent of respondents satisfied or very satisfied, and community members interviewed for the independent study said the actions helped them evacuate household assets and important documents and avoid waterborne disease and malaria. Early action also allowed training, prepositioning and clearer roles with district authorities. Community feedback suggested starting earlier and planning at household level. Since the floods arrived after the planned lead time and smaller than forecast, the protective effect against the forecast flood was not fully tested.
The available lead time was short for the number of households to be reached, and heavy rain, poor roads and limited access slowed distributions. Distributing items at a central point drew in non-beneficiaries, which led to security incidents and miscalculated quantities. The study recommended revising item calculations and distributing in more locations. Coordination with district structures was inconsistent. Some items identified as needs, such as food, cash and improved toilets, were not delivered because the district committee did not prioritise them. There were also more equally vulnerable households than the support could reach.
Risks include late or short lead times, security problems at distribution points, unregistered households receiving items, supply delays and inconsistent coordination. The mitigation measures visible in the sources are pre-selection and registration of households, prepositioned stock, volunteer training, stakeholder coordination meetings and post-distribution monitoring. The study recommends earlier messaging, drain clearing before floods and household-level plans.
Risk & Mitigation Plan
Scalability and Sustainability
The activation relied on the IFRC emergency fund, which finances EAPs once their trigger is reached. The study credits several years of Red Cross preparedness investment, including volunteer training, cash preparedness and community plans. It also describes financial flows from the government through the water and disaster management bodies. No public information on the EAP’s renewal or longer-term funding was found in the sources reviewed.
The approach applies wherever a forecast can be linked to a trigger, pre-agreed actions and funding, and wherever existing community and health committees can carry the delivery. The study says the Red Cross was developing a drought EAP at the time. Item calculations, distribution sites and household targeting need adapting to each place.
The EAP uses an impact-based forecasting portal that connects a global flood forecast to national water gauge stations. Alerts reached communities through public address systems, radio, megaphones and mass SMS.
The IFRC emergency fund allocation for this activation was CHF 249,955, according to the activation notice. The study says the money was enough for the targeted beneficiaries but not for all exposed households.
No public information on recurring costs was found in the sources reviewed. Ongoing costs may include forecast monitoring, volunteer training and retention, stock prepositioning and coordination with district structures.
Preparedness work done before the activation, such as capacity assessments, procedures and community plans, made the early action possible and is the main asset to maintain. The study says the EAP should be aligned with the contingency plan and that stakeholders need to understand how the two fit. Distributions and coordination need improvement before the next activation. Financing remains tied to the emergency fund.