Previsico’s flood forecasting system goes live in Kenya in partnership with Kenya Red Cross

Previsico, today announces that its partnership with the Kenyan Red Cross has now gone live after a successful trial, to bring cutting-edge flood alerts to the people of Kisumu, ahead of a potential roll-out across Kenya. 

Previsico’s FloodMap Live technology uses real-time modelling to produce actionable flood alerts that enable people and organisations to proactively mitigate the impact of flooding. The vision is to increase people’s resilience to flood risk, whilst significantly reducing the cost of flooding for commercial, government, and humanitarian organisations, such as the Kenya Red Cross, globally.

Avi Baruch, COO at Previsico, said: “Our mission is to minimise the impact of flooding globally by delivering the very latest third generation flood forecasting technology to those who need it most. For us, this project is a fantastic opportunity to bring our cutting-edge solution to support the people of Kenya, with our partners, as part of our continued global expansion and CSR work.”

Emmah Mwangi, Climate Research Manager at Kenya Red Cross, said: “The increase in extreme rainfall events coupled with unplanned urban development has led to increase in flood events and extent in urban areas in Kenya. Currently, there is limited early information that can inform on the occurrence of these events. The flood forecasting project being implemented by Previsico, KRCS, KMD and Ramani will improve early warning information for Kisumu City and this will enhance preparedness towards mitigating flood risk and especially in informal settlements where the most vulnerable live.”

Funding for the project has come from Urban Links Africa, which was established by Connected Places Catapult, the UK’s national centre of excellence for urban innovation. The programme is designed to foster partnerships between UK SMEs and South African / Kenyan organisations to help develop technology solutions to urban challenges in emerging cities across South Africa, Kenya, and other East African countries.

Previsico’s FloodMap Live technology, which is also being used by the UK Cabinet Office, Emergency Services, and the insurance sector can enable Kenyan authorities to alert people of imminent flooding, down to an individual property level (25m). This will enable them to move valuables to higher ground and set up temporary defences as necessary, minimising the risks to lives and livelihoods.