Death toll rises, more roads closed due to flooding
Buses stuck in floodwater at Kware area in Pipeline, Nairobi on May 1, 2024.
By the time they woke up, there was nowhere to run. Winnie Mutiso and her siblings were marooned in their house, as their belongings floated in the flood waters.
She is among scores of people in Nairobi’s Kware area who woke up to the horror of a neighbourhood submerged in water.
Winnie, like many others in Kware’s Kimono area, were caught unawares when the Ngong River broke its bank.
Many other tenants were unable to leave their homes after the river that quietly flows through their neighbourhood suddenly turned ferocious, sweeping everything its way downstream.
The area was inaccessible as the roads became impassable. Sewerage mixed with the flood water, putting residents at risk of water-borne diseases.
“It has never been this bad,” Winnie said, adding that it would get worse should it continue raining.
The foundations of the buildings “are also being weakened”, said Amos Amuko, adding that this is the “making of a grand disaster”.
Both Kware primary and secondary schools were not spared either, and the management of the institutions pleaded with the government to intervene.
Locals travelling between Madogo and Garissa boat speed boats in the flooded Mororo area on May 1, 2024.
“Books and desks are destroyed We’ve not been able to salvage anything. Even if the students open next week, we’re not sure if learning will resume immediately,” board chair Onesmus Musyoka said, pointing at the submerged classes. “And snakes are already roaming here. Just this week, alone, we’ve killed more than seven, making this place unsafe for the students.”
For the last three nights, Winnie Atieno has had to wake up in the wee hours of the night to get rid of the water in her matrimonial home. Yesterday, she and her husband were almost electrocuted.
Following the rains, she narrated, they got home to a house full of water, almost to the level of electric connections and appliances that were on.
So bad was Tuesday’s downpour that Thika Superhighway was for the first time, since the heavy rains began, closed down.
Motorists using the superhighway and those using the Thika-Garissa road, as a result, were stranded for the better part of Wednesday.
Traffic stretched from Githurai 45 to Kahawa Sukari near Kenyatta University’s main campus following the flooding of the drift.
Several other roads across the city and the country were also cut off, with the authorities calling on road users to use alternate routes to their destinations.
Houses marooned by floodwater at Kware area in Pipeline, Nairobi after heavy rains on May 1, 2024.
Kimalat Bridge on Isinya-Kitengela road, and Lang’ata road at T-Mall and Madaraka roundabouts were flooded and impassable. Same to the Eastern Bypass near Kamakis. Most sections of Ruiru-Kamiti road were flooded.
Mombasa road was also flooded at various points, including at Imara Daima, Cabanas and South C under pass area.
In Kiambu County, the situation was no better. With the Juja bridge underpass flooded, traffic stretched from Kimbo area to Juja town.
A train plying the Nairobi-Nanyuki route was forced to stop near Bidco in Thika as the area had been rendered impassable.
The flooding of Thika Road from Blue-Post Hotel saw many people from Murang’a County and other neighbouring counties travelling to Nairobi stranded for hours.
In the Maasai Mara Game Reserve, tourists in several hotels, lodges and camps had to be evacuated in boats and helicopters from their rooms following flash floods resulting from the Telek river bursting its banks.
Videos on social media showed rescue helicopters hovering over the marooned leisure facilities as tourists were evacuated.
In Kitengela, Kajiado County, an entire estate was completely flooded following the overnight downpour. Several villages, including Kimalat, Sholinke and Tuala, also experienced heavy flooding.
Around 3am on yesterday, distress calls from dozens of families residing in Kitengela town rent the air as raging waters flooded their homes.
Two middle-aged men died in separate flooding incidents.
Around midday yesterday, the lifeless body of a snacks seller was retrieved from the Noonkopir seasonal river. It is suspected that he was swept away as he tried to cross the bridge at night.
The deceased’s wife identified the body.
Residents stare down at a flooded section of the Thika Superhighway at the Kahawa Sukari exit on May 1, 2024.
“I got alarmed when he didn’t return home last night from work. It’s unfortunate our frantic search resulted in the discovery of his body. He was the family breadwinner,” said the distraught widow.
The second body was retrieved from a drainage ditch within Kitengela town near the Kitengela GK prison.
The seasonal Ilkeek-lemedung’i river, commonly known as New Valley River, burst its banks flooding several estates along its course. The heavy downpour continued through the night, hampering rescue efforts.
By dawn, the Red Cross team had managed to rescue at least 100 people, while a dozen families remained trapped in their homes waiting for the floods to subside.
“I was trapped in the house with my three children. We took refuge on the roof of our house as the water continued rising overnight. I’m glad we survived,” said Jane Kamau, a New Valley estate resident.
The flooding, Joseph Kinuthia, a resident of Kitengela, said it was not a new occurrence.
“I have lost virtually everything from clothing to foodstuffs. This is a catastrophe that has usually befallen us during the rainy season and we expect more severe damage in case the rains continue,” Mr Kinuthia said.
Flower farms in Isinya were flooded and Namanga road temporarily closed after Korompoi river broke its banks submerging the bridge.
In the wake of the rains was destruction, death, impassable roads and life halted briefly or changed completely across the country.
On Wednesday, the government placed the total national flood-related death toll at 179— 164 adults and 15 children.
“The ongoing flooding has led to the displacement of an additional 1,127 households, raising the number of displaced households to 31,341 with 195,011 people affected,” said government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura.
“Additionally, 20 more people have been reported as missing, putting the national tally of those reported missing at 90. Another 125 Kenyans have been injured and are receiving treatment in health facilities across the country.”
Following the ongoing flooding, a number of international leaders have expressed their support for Kenya.
Pope Francis, on his official X account, wrote: “Let us pray together for all those who suffer the effects of this natural disaster”, adding that he is “spiritually close to the people of Kenya at this time”.
On the same platform, President Paul Kagame of Rwanda passed his condolences to President William Ruto and Kenyans in general “for the families displaced and lives lost”.
“Rwanda stands in solidarity with you and the country in this difficult time,” he added.
Reporting by Daniel Ogetta, Stanley Ngotho and Simon Ciuri
