Kenya's corporate sector is upgrading the information networks of the National Disaster Operation Centre (NDOC), with an overhaul of the centre's archaic manual system to fully automated surveillance and monitoring.
This is expected to allow a more rapid response from relief and security services during disasters.
The new systems being supplied to the disaster information project by the private sector include IP-based cameras, 3D mapping, toll-free calling centres and an interactive disaster information Web portal.
In an innovative multi-sectoral public-private partnership, the NDOC and several organisations have officially partnered to improve the disaster preparedness measure of the country's major cities with the launch of 24 IP-based CCTV cameras, covering Nairobi and Mombasa.
Now the centre can monitor the central business district and major roads in the two cities through live feeds provided by the Kenyan Internet and technology company, Kenya Data Networks (KDN).
The surveillance camera network is part of the Disaster Early Detection and Monitoring System, and covers business areas, shopping malls, stadiums, highways and major roads. Dubbed “Walls Eyes Horizon”, the network of cameras allows the operation centre to monitor different locations simultaneously.
The NDOC, which falls under the office of the president, reached out to private companies and organisations, as funding from the government was insufficient to make the technical upgrades.
“We got an overwhelming response after we invited representatives from different organisations for a presentation on our mission and the challenges we are facing,” said Col (retired) Vincent Lee Anami, director of the NDOC.
The plea led to several banks, supermarkets and key buildings within the Nairobi CBD pledging to avail their CCTV camera records to NDOC on a needs basis, with plans to link the cameras to the KDN city-wide Disaster Early Detection and Monitoring System in the near future.
Also in the pipeline is a plan to install CCTV cameras in the Nairobi slum districts of Kibera, Mathare and Korogocho. The cameras, says Anami, will help in the monitoring of disasters and emergencies, and will be mounted on the telecoms masts.
Over the last three months, 110 fires have been reported in Kenya, destroying 5 000 homes in different residential areas in the country. It has been reported that fire engines and rescue efforts come too late as a result of weak communication systems and poor coordination on the part of government.
“The cameras will help us to quickly mobilise response to emergencies and improve our role as the main coordinating body in the event of disasters and emergencies,” says Joseph Kingo'ori, deputy director of the NDOC.
Among organisations that responded to the call by the NDOC were Google and KenCall, a business process outsourcing company based in Nairobi. Google pledged to create a disaster information portal that will map by coordinates all hospitals, police stations, ambulance service providers, government food stores, fire stations, heavy lift centres, and CCTV cameras, Coordinates will also be provided for Red Cross branches, evacuation centres, flood zones, public stadiums, schools, and other critical data centres in Kenya.
KenCall has re-launched the emergency toll-free 109 service, which records over 2 000 calls a day from all over the country. KenCall is now sending detailed daily reports to the centre for action.
“Across the country, people are unable to communicate effectively and cheaply with the government during a crisis, and so this 109 service has had some unintended benefits in that it gives the citizens that voice to express whatever they need to say,” says Nicholas Nesbitt, CEO of KenCall.
“It also gives the government real help from a logistics standpoint, because it helps to determine the locations of the critical areas based on the number of calls on particular issues coming from the different parts of the country.”
The toll-free number is available countrywide and, according to KenCall, the majority of callers have been reporting on the famine situation in some parts of the country.
Meanwhile, Saab, a Swedish-based company, is creating a 3D map of Nairobi and Mombasa with a view to making the information available to the public through the centre.
“We still have a long way to go, but from the support we are getting, we will be able to execute our mission more effectively,” says Anami.
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