Kenya has recently made global headlines due to the heavy rains in April 2024 that have caused death and destruction and displaced many. The Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) lists April as being the peak month during the long rains season that extends from March to May but this year, several urban and rural regions have experienced above average rainfall that has resulted in flooding, the loss of lives, and the destruction of property of an as yet unknown value.
Photos and videos of people trapped on rooftops in Nairobi’s Mathare slums and upmarket estates such as Runda in Nairobi and Athi River town are circulating on Kenyan media. In Nairobi and its environs, buildings on flat terrain that host businesses and industries have been flooded by stagnant water. By far the most notable tragedy occurred in Maai Mahiu, a rural town where landslides caused by flooding have killed an estimated 46 people and left a trail of destruction. Elsewhere, in Muranga, a rural county, people were buried by landslides caused by flooding causing yet more loss of life.
Staggering statistics
The National Disaster Operations Centre reported that, as of 28th April, heavy rains and flash floods have left over 103 people dead, 29 injured, 21 people missing, 150,365 people displaced, and almost 191,000 being affected around the country. The rains have also interfered with normal activities with the opening of schools being delayed by a week and power outages being rampant. What has also become very evident during this year’s long rain cycle is that the country’s infrastructure is vulnerable to natural disasters.
The flooding has washed away roads and the eight lane Thika superhighway, which is considered to be a model of solid infrastructure, has had stretches of over a kilometer flooded with vehicles left trapped there. There is also footage of cargo cold rooms and terminals at Kenya’s largest airport, Jomo Kenyatta International, being flooded. The heavy rains and floods have also affected the tourism sector. At Maasai Mara National Reserve, home to Africa’s big 5 wildlife and the world famous wildebeest immigration, camps have been washed away and lodges flooded after the Mara and Talek rivers broke their banks. Tourists and staff are stranded there and await evacuation.
Human activity worsens floods’ impact
Although heavy rains are causing the floods, human activity has also exacerbated the situation. In towns and cities like Nairobi, drainage tunnels in populated estates are choked by plastic waste such as bottles and polythene that residents discard after use. In a bustling and densely populated estate like Githurai 45, plastic waste that has been irresponsibly discarded is clogging the underground drainage system so, when it rains, the stagnant water on roads and footpaths makes these impassable.
A failure by county governments to strictly enforce environmental laws has also resulted in houses being built on grabbed riparian land, more so in Nairobi although the National Environmental Management Authority has implemented an act that forbids structures being built 6 to 30 meters on land that is adjacent to rivers. During these rains, housing estates that have been built on riparian land are flooded as rivers revert to the routes where they once flowed before their waters diminished. Rivers passing through urban areas have burst their banks and flooded both low income and middle class estates built near them. In Athi River, a town in the outskirts of Nairobi, middle class residents had to be rescued by boats after the River Athi burst its banks and flooded the upmarket Graceland Estate there.
The reason why environmental laws are being flouted can largely be attributed to corruption and politics. There lacks political goodwill to enforce these because it may result in many buildings that have been built on riparian land being demolished and some political leaders view taking such action as political suicide. In 2018, a former governor of Kiambu, a county neighboring Nairobi, even suggested instead of such buildings being demolished, the rivers should be moved. That comment was recently revisited by Kenya’s vibrant X social media users who suggested that nature is finally seeking revenge and the rivers are taking back their routes.
Call to address climate change crisis
According to the Director of the KMD, David Gikungu, the ongoing floods in Kenya are caused by El Nino, a climate pattern that is responsible for heavy rains that cause flooding, heatwaves, droughts and a rise in global temperatures. KMD expects the heavy rains to continue even into the month of May with varying degrees of storm levels.
Kenya is not the only country experiencing the harsh effects of heavy rains due to El Nino with other East African countries facing the same plight and suffering similar casualties. Meanwhile, Southern African countries are facing the reverse effects of El Nino and experiencing droughts and damage to crops. The El Nino climate pattern has prompted the UN to release a statement calling for support for climate change adaptation measures to cushion those countries affected. The UN is also advocating for interventions that protect farmers from crop and livestock losses caused by droughts associated with El-Nino such as developing drought resistant crops.
