Flash floods that devastated nearly half of Kenya have left at least 32 dead and two missing. In total, 103,500 individuals have been impacted.
Kenya has seen a lot of rain since the middle of March, but within the past week, the amount of rain has increased, causing widespread flooding. Since the crisis started in March, the Kenyan Red Cross reports that it has performed over 188 rescues.
Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, saw the closure of certain roads on Wednesday and the flooding of numerous neighbourhoods following yet another day of intense rain.
“The situation in Nairobi has escalated to extreme levels. The county government for all its efforts is clearly overwhelmed,” wrote city Senator Edwin Sifuna on his X account.
“We need all national emergency services mobilized to save lives.”
He posted a video of people in an unofficial Nairobi colony who were stuck on the rooftops of their homes.
18 persons in the Mathare 4A neighbourhood were rescued by the Kenya Red Cross Society after they were “stranded due to floodwaters caused by heavy rains last night in Nairobi.”
It went on to say that it was conducting further “life-saving” operations around the nation.
On Wednesday, there was a lot of traffic on two key highways leaving Nairobi because parts of them were flooded by flooding. Four seriously damaged roads were partially closed by the Kenya Urban Roads Authority, which also issued flood warnings on two more.
“The traffic police and our technical team are on the ground to direct traffic and enhance the safety of motorists,” it said in a statement.
Kenya Railways suspended commuter train services nationwide.
“We are compelled to take these precautionary measures because the safety of our customers is always of paramount importance to us,” the operator said in a statement.
The Kenya Meteorological Department warned of “heavy to very heavy” rainfall in parts of the country in an update on Wednesday.
“Continued rainfall is anticipated across various parts of the country as indicated in the Wednesday and Thursday rainfall forecast maps,” it said in a statement.
