Page 36 - CIWA AR25

View from the Field: Milly Mbuliro

MILLY

MBULIRO

Protecting the Nile Basin

from the fury of flash floods

“Today, the Nile Basin Flash Flood Early Warning System has Flash floods, which are arising more often and with more severity,

forecasted flash floods to occur in the evening of tomorrow, can exacerbate food insecurity, cause disease outbreaks, and
Friday, March 28, 2025, in the eastern areas around Lake Victoria, damage infrastructure.
in the Mara region” of Tanzania, Milly Mbuliro, a water resources
officer at NELSAP-CU, broadcast to water colleagues on The Nile Basin experienced one of its worst flood years in 2024.

LinkedIn. Tanzania received far more detailed information about In the spring rainy season, heavy rains caused severe flooding

the expected time of the floods, their severity, specific locations and flash floods across Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania,
at risk, and how many people might be affected. and Uganda. By the end of the year, over 5 million people had
been affected by floods, with hundreds of thousands of people

It’s deeply meaningful to Mbuliro, who led the two-year displaced and hundreds more killed and injured.
development of the CIWA-supported NB-FFEWS, that the
system has been operating since June 2024. Over 293,000 Kenyans were forced to relocate from heavy

rain and flash floods that spring. At least 315 people were killed.

The impact of floods fills Mbuliro with sorrow. She sees the Hundreds of thousands of children missed school and the school

devastation during her field work travels throughout Nile Basin meals they count on for sustenance.
countries for her job, which includes serving as the coordinator
for the NELSAP transboundary component of the Regional
Climate Resilience Project and as the thematic lead for flood-

and drought-risk mitigation under the NCCR. Her work with
NCCR includes traveling extensively to flood-prone

areas to identify suitable interventions for improved
flood-risk management and to prepare a flood

management investment plan.
“Flash floods occur very fast and without warning,”

usually after heavy rains, says Mbuliro, 45, who is Ugandan
but lives in Kigali, Rwanda with her two teenage children.
Flash floods can last from 30 minutes to several hours and

sometimes longer in flood plains. Unlike river floods, flash floods

often take people by surprise—especially if there is no local
rainfall—when water flows from the highlands to lower terrain

faster than the ground can absorb. They also occur in cities when
rain overflows inadequate drainage systems that are sometimes

clogged with solid waste.
36