Ahead of the November 2023 floods in eastern Uganda, communities worked with the Uganda Red Cross Society to dig drainage ditches, strengthen river banks and pass on warnings after a forecast trigger released pre-agreed funding.
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Community Anticipatory Action Ahead of the 2023 Floods in Butaleja and Mbale
General Information
ISIG
In November 2023, communities in Butaleja and Mbale, Uganda, dug drainage ditches and reinforced flood barriers before forecast floods, supported by the Uganda Red Cross Society.
On 15 November 2023, forecasts from the Global Flood Awareness System showed 16 districts at high risk, with a 60 per cent probability of a five-year flood. That met the trigger in the Uganda Red Cross Society’s Early Action Protocol (EAP) for floods, and the IFRC’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund released CHF 348,761 to support around 11,200 people. Community members were paid to dig ditches and received tools and sandbags, while volunteers and village leaders warned households in flood-prone villages. Forecast uncertainty shortened the available lead time, so only some planned actions went ahead. Residents interviewed in 2024 said the damage was smaller than in earlier floods, and they have kept maintaining the ditches.
Eastern Uganda has recurrent floods, driven largely by water running off Mount Elgon and the surrounding hills. In Butaleja, a low-lying district along the Manafwa River, rain in the mountains upstream can flood villages within hours. In Mbale, communities on the lower slopes of Mount Elgon live beside rivers that can rise several metres. Floods there damage farms, houses, roads and livestock, and in the past they have caused deaths and disease.
Torrential rains hit East Africa in October 2023, and Uganda was among the most affected countries. The Uganda Red Cross Society’s EAP for floods set a forecast trigger, pre-agreed early actions and pre-arranged financing, so that action could begin before the flood peak. The case study shows how communities took part when it was activated.
Hazard Type
Geographical Scope - Nuts
Geographical Scope
Population Size
Population Density
Needs Addressed
Communities in eastern Uganda face flooding that arrives quickly, destroys homes, crops and livestock, and in earlier events caused deaths and cholera. Aid has typically arrived after the damage. Early warning equipment in some villages was no longer working, and residents had limited tools and information to protect themselves before the water arrived. The activation aimed to reduce losses by acting on a forecast before the flood peak, using a pre-agreed financing mechanism.
The people reached were rural farming and livestock-keeping households in flood-prone, low-income areas.
The EAP is run by the Uganda Red Cross Society and financed through the IFRC’s emergency fund. At national level, the Office of the Prime Minister issued an early warning alert, and a Red Cross interviewee says it brings ministries together on anticipatory action. The activation plan includes orienting district and sub-county disaster management committees on cash assistance.
An approved EAP, funding, trained volunteers and two simulation exercises held earlier in 2023 were in place. At community level, preparedness was uneven: some villages’ flood-warning equipment had stopped working.
Flood defences relied largely on hand-dug ditches, soil and sandbag embankments. Residents report that bridges and roads are repeatedly damaged by floods, and the early warning equipment in at least one village was not functioning.
To involve at-risk communities in reducing flood impact before the peak: through awareness-raising, training, paid work on flood-protection measures and warnings passed on by volunteers and village leaders.
Community sensitisation sessions and Red Cross training, a cash-for-work scheme, tools and sandbags for community works, early warning messages from volunteers moving through villages, and two simulation exercises earlier in 2023. The EAP also planned feedback channels and rapid community assessments.
Communities carried out the ditch digging and embankment reinforcement, walked the rivers to identify likely weak points, passed on warnings and later took over maintenance of the ditches. The trigger, the early actions and the financing were set in the EAP by the Uganda Red Cross Society and the IFRC.
The Red Cross trained residents, and the simulation exercises are credited with improving readiness. Tools such as spades, wheelbarrows and rubber boots stayed with the communities. Residents continue to maintain the ditches and dig new ones on their own farms, which a Red Cross staff member describes as local ownership.
Vulnerable Groups
Governance
Emergency Preparedness
Infrastructure Readiness
Engagement Level
Empowerment Level
Implementation
- Pre-agreed funding released automatically when a flood forecast reaches the trigger.
- Cash-for-work used to build flood protection before the peak, so the payment reached households while the work protected the village.
- Community and volunteer-led warnings in local languages.
- Simulation exercises before the flood season.
Uganda Red Cross Society (including its Tororo and Mbale branches), financed by the IFRC’s Disaster Response Emergency Fund.
The Uganda Red Cross Society had an approved flood EAP, an anticipatory action coordinator and volunteer networks in the districts, and it had run simulation exercises before the activation.
Uganda Red Cross Society staff and volunteers; IFRC (funding); at-risk communities and village leaders in Butaleja and Mbale; the Office of the Prime Minister (early warning alert); district and sub-county disaster management committees (planned involvement); forecast providers (Global Flood Awareness System).
- A flood EAP was approved in 2021, setting the trigger, early actions and financing.
- Two simulation exercises were held in 2023 to prepare communities.
- Forecasts were monitored. A first trigger threshold was reached around 11 November, levels then dipped and rose again, and the team reviewed whether to put the activation on hold.
- On 15 November 2023, forecasts showed a 60 per cent probability of a five-year flood, the trigger was met and funds were released.
- Volunteers and village leaders passed warnings from village to village, and communities received awareness sessions.
- Because the lead time had shortened, the team prioritised cash-for-work and pre-positioned items. Residents dug drainage ditches, reinforced river banks with soil and sandbags, and received tools.
- Communities have kept maintaining the ditches.
- Testimonies were collected in July 2024, and the case study was published in December 2024.
Funding came from the IFRC’s emergency fund, activated once the forecast trigger was reached. The Uganda Red Cross Society supplied staff and branch volunteers, who carried out the work, such as passing on early warnings house to house. Communities provided labour for digging ditches and raising embankments, and some were paid through cash-for-work. Materials included digging kits, spades, rakes, hoes, wheelbarrows, rubber boots, and sandbags for embankments. Pre-positioned items were also distributed. The trigger relied on a global flood forecast, and the Office of the Prime Minister issued an early warning alert. Not every planned resource was used, because the shorter lead time meant the team concentrated on cash-for-work and pre-positioned items.
The EAP specified a five-day lead time and a two-month action period (activation report, via a summarising tool). In practice the lead time was reduced by forecast uncertainty. Simulation exercises took place earlier in 2023.
Experience of the Implementing Organisation in DRM
Target Audience
Resources Required
Timeframe & Phases
Participation Results
Residents interviewed said the damage was smaller than in earlier floods, and no lives were lost in the communities visited for the case study. Cash payments gave households flexibility, even though it was spent during the floods. Simulation exercises improved readiness. Community ownership continued after the activation.
Forecasts wavered around the trigger threshold for several days, which shortened the lead time and meant not all planned actions could be delivered. The team focused on the actions that were possible in the time available, mainly cash-for-work and distributing pre-positioned items. Other challenges were broken early warning equipment in some villages, volunteers without bicycles to reach remote communities, and floods that still damaged homes, livestock and crops. Interviewees asked for water, sanitation and hygiene kits, bicycles for volunteers and more regular refresher training.
Implementation risks include false alarms or stop-start activations, funding that is available only after a trigger, volunteers unable to reach remote villages, and the upkeep of hand-dug defences. The mitigation visible in the sources is the simulation exercises, a flexible choice of which actions to deliver, and community ownership of ditch maintenance. Health risks such as cholera are recognised by interviewees, who asked for hygiene kits.
Risk & Mitigation Plan
Scalability and Sustainability
The activation was financed through a pre-arranged emergency fund tied to the EAP. The EAP’s approved period ran to May 2026. Community maintenance of ditches continues without external payment. Other organisations, including FAO and WFP, are building anticipatory action systems in Uganda, and a Red Cross interviewee says the Office of the Prime Minister brings these efforts together.
The approach can be repeated wherever a flood forecast can be linked to a trigger, pre-agreed actions and pre-arranged financing. Cash-for-work on drainage and embankments suits flood-prone rural areas where runoff comes from higher ground. It depends on forecast reliability and on volunteer networks that can reach remote villages. The case study says anticipatory action needs to expand with sufficient financing.
The trigger relies on a global flood forecasting system and an impact-based forecast portal. The community actions are low-tech: manual digging, sandbags and word-of-mouth warnings.
The activation released CHF 348,761 (about USD 395,000 or EUR 362,000) from the IFRC’s emergency fund to support around 11,200 people. Each cash-for-work participant was paid 100,000 Ugandan shillings, worth about USD 26 in November 2023.
No public information on recurring costs was found in the sources reviewed. Based on the available information, ongoing costs include forecast monitoring, volunteer time, training and simulations, and the upkeep of community defences, which residents currently carry out themselves.
Anticipatory action is now treated as part of national planning discussions, according to a Red Cross interviewee, but its continuation depends on financing that is released after a trigger. Community upkeep of ditches shows local ownership, but it does not cover costs such as volunteer transport or warning equipment. The case study calls for more financing and wider coverage.