This archive report was first published on 6 December 2019.
Heavy rains and flash floods have caused widespread destruction in Nairobi and surrounding counties, with several homes submerged and vehicles swept away.
On Wednesday evening, at least six vehicles and a motorcycle were swept away by floodwaters on Kangundo Road in Nairobi, while several homes were submerged as River Athi broke its banks and flooded the Kamulu area.
Residents were forced to move to safety, and a police chopper that responded to the flooding in the area rescued at least four people, including a disabled woman.
According to Kayole police boss Wilson Kosgei, the vehicles swept away included two buses, a mini-bus, two saloon cars, and a pick-up.
Meanwhile, in Machakos, nine people were rescued by a police helicopter from an island in the flooded River Athi near Ol Donyo Sabuk trading centre in Matungulu sub-county.
Flash floods have also caused destruction in parts of South Rift counties, with at least 11 deaths reported in Bomet, and 70 families displaced in Baringo.
Local disaster management officials in Bomet reported that in the past three weeks, a total of 11 people have either been swept away by floods or drowned in dams.
Chairman of Lake Naivasha Water Resources User Association Enock Kiminta warned that the highway could be cut off by the floods in Naivasha, where over 5,000 families living at KCC village have been put on high alert due to the gushing waters.
Elsewhere, one person died after being swept away by floods in Tinderet, Nandi County, while over 20 residents were forced out of their homes following landslides in the area.
