Evacuations Ordered as Heavy Rains Continue in Kenya

The unrelenting rains have affected both citizens and visitors alike. Several tourists and staff of the Maasai Mara National Reserve had to be rescued, after being trapped by floods, when the banks of the Talek River burst on Tuesday. Over 14 camps and lodges were flooded. In a statement shared on X, the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) said that it had rescued 90 people and most of the affected camps were closed. The flooding swept away tents, and the Mara bridge, which connects the Mara Triangle and the Greater Mara, has now been washed away.

This incident followed the death of 51 people in Mai Mahiu earlier this week, after a dam burst led to serious flash floods and landslides. More than 100 have been admitted to hospital, while National Youth Service personnel have been deployed for search and rescue missions.

Weeks of almost non-stop rains are wreaking havoc in parts of Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi. Serious flooding has claimed the lives of dozens, drenched thousands of homes and shops, and rendered transportation routes unpassable.

In the weeks since the flooding began, the country has reported 188 fatalities, up from 38 just last week. KRCS estimates that over 20,000 homes have been gravely affected, and the floods have displaced over 10,000 families already. The rains have also killed thousands of livestock, affected over 200 businesses, submerged over 27,000 acres of arable land and damaged 18 schools.

Kenya’s Meteorological Department has forecasted “heavy to very heavy” rainfall until the end of the month. These above average rainfall events are linked to the El Niňo weather phenomenon that’s caused a serious drought in Southern Africa and has intensified rains in parts of East Africa.

“I’ve lived in Mathare since 1983 and I have never witnessed the river rise to that level before,” 52-year-old Alice Ndiege, whose home was submerged in the flooding, explained to Al Jazeera. “El Niňo is the most feared rain. The floods take over the roads but they never reach here. I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Kenya had been experiencing constant rainfall for about a month, but the downpour intensified over the weekend and earlier this week, leading to losses in several counties. Earlier today, a resident of the low income neighborhood of Mathare Valley shared a video on Facebook showing the devastating effects of the rains, as houses and streetways are mostly submerged under floodwater. Several residents had to climb onto rooftops after Tuesday night’s torrential rainfall.

In a post shared to X, the KRCS said one of its teams rescued 18 people, including 7 children, in Mradi, Mathare 4A, who were stranded due to the floodwater. “Humanitarian needs have really emerged in this area. And this is very significant around shelter, where those 11,275 families … can't use their houses or they have lost their homes,” KRCS head of operations Venant Ndigilatold VOA.

In Burundi, dozens have died due to constant flooding and the United Nations estimates that over 200,000 people have been displaced since last September due to El Niňo-intensified rainfall floods. With over 80 percent of its population involved in agriculture, the negative economic impact has been felt in infrastructure damages and the flooding of arable lands.

Last week, it was reported that 58 people died in Tanzania after heavy rains and floods persisted for two weeks, particularly in the country’s coastal regions. This recent event follows the death of at least 88 people back in December due to flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains. In a press briefing, government spokesman Mobhare Matinyi has said that the government plans to construct 14 dams, in order to prevent future flooding.