At least 42 people have died in flash floods triggered by relentless heavy rains across Kenya since Friday, with the capital bearing the brunt of the disaster, government officials confirmed Sunday.
Public Service and Special Programmes Minister Geoffrey Ruku reported that police documented 26 deaths in Nairobi alone, where swollen rivers overflowed banks, submerging low-lying neighborhoods and informal settlements. Torrential downpours battered multiple counties over the weekend, flooding roads, halting transport, and causing extensive damage to infrastructure and livelihoods nationwide.
In the capital, floodwaters surged through densely populated areas, sweeping away vehicles, destroying homes, and forcing residents to wade through waist-deep waters on Sunday. Aid workers pulled bodies from the deluge on Saturday as emergency teams struggled to reach cut-off communities.
Kenya Airways announced flight disruptions to Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, with several planes diverted to the coastal city of Mombasa due to poor visibility and waterlogged runways. Major highways linking the capital to other regions remained impassable, stranding motorists and commuters.
The Kenyan Red Cross warned that hundreds of households in neighboring counties faced displacement, with vast swaths of farmland destroyed, threatening food security in rural areas already vulnerable to climate shocks. Rescue operations continued into Monday, with teams using boats to evacuate stranded families from Mathare, Kibera, and other informal settlements.
This latest flooding underscores Kenya’s growing vulnerability to extreme weather, exacerbated by poor urban planning, clogged drainage systems, and deforestation upstream. Government meteorologists forecast more rains through mid-week, urging residents in flood-prone zones to seek higher ground immediately.
