Storms and flash floods left roads in Kenya’s capital Nairobi flooded on Wednesday (April 23). At least 10 people have died in the natural disaster there. Several houses were also washed away.
According to a local online portal in Kenya, heavy rains and flash floods have occurred in the East African region in the last few weeks. Rainfall has increased due to El Nino. Roads and streets in Nairobi are stuck in flood waters.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja put the death toll from overnight rains at four, a figure discounted by county police boss Adamson Bungei.
“An estimated 60,000 people, mostly women and children, have been severely affected after the devastating flash floods that hit Nairobi,” Sakaja told a news conference after leading a rescue operation in parts of the capital.
“Unfortunately, we lost ten persons. A search is on to trace others who have been reported missing. The following areas were adversely affected: Kibra, Lindi, Mathare 4A and Mathare North, Baba Dogo, Githurai and Zimmermann. This morning together with members of Parliament from Nairobi and local leadership among them visited several areas in Mathare, Utali Ruaraka area which were worst affected by the rains,” he added.
Kenya Railways said it is temporarily suspending commuter train services. According to the road authorities, four roads in the capital have been partially closed.
Kelvin Mwangi, an Uber driver based in Nairobi, said the city was at a standstill as most roads were flooded. He said, we are wasting a lot of time and in some cases we are not even able to reach the destination on time.
Late last year, heavy rains and floods in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia killed more than 300 people. Also, severe floods from October 1997 to January 1998 killed more than 6,000 people in five African countries.
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