As heavy rains persist across various parts of Kenya, residents of Nairobi City are facing despair as floods render roads impassable.
Once renowned as a green city under the sun, sections of the city now wake up to mud-filled streets, blocked drainages, and flooded homes. The flooding is also posing risk to houses in informal settlements that have been constructed near rivers like Mathare and Nairobi rivers.
The heavy rainfall from Saturday night has left a visible trail of destruction in many areas of the city. Langata Road, for instance, saw floodwaters filling the T Mall roundabout until Sunday morning.
Similar scenes were observed in South C, Mombasa Road, Kajiado, Parklands, Syokimau, and Kangundo Road.
Parts of Thika Road and Garden Estate were also affected, with flash floods marooning streets and infiltrating homes.
The Kenya Meteorological Department has forecasted that the heavy rains will persist until April 22.
According to a statement released on Saturday, “Rainfall is expected to persist across various regions with heavy downpours anticipated in Central Highlands, Western Kenya, Rift Valley, South-eastern lowlands, Coast, and North-eastern Kenya.”
The devastating impact of the heavy rains and floods continues to escalate, with reports of at least 32 deaths, 15 injuries, and two individuals missing as of April 18.
Additionally, over 103,485 people have been affected, including 40,265 displaced individuals across 21 out of 47 counties in the country. The floods and heavy rainfall have also led to the loss of over 960 livestock and destruction of 24,010 acres of croplands.
