Saturday Night Floods Submerge Roads and Estates Across Nairobi

A second wave of flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall disrupted movement across several parts of Nairobi, leaving multiple roads in the city submerged while forcing motorists to navigate waterlogged streets.

The downpour, which began late in the evening, overwhelmed drainage systems in various neighbourhoods, leaving some commuters stranded in the middle of the night.

According to a statement from the Kenya Red Cross, among the hardest hit locations from the rains on Saturday evening were Parklands, the Central Business District (CBD) and Ngong Road near the Ngando area.

Incidentally, locations like Lower Kabete, Kibera, Kilimani, South B, Kawangware, Lang’ata and Lavington were also flooded.

In Eastleigh, several roads were also rendered impassable as drainage systems were severely overwhelmed in several estates.

Other affected roads include the Nairobi Expressway at the Museum Hill exit, Limuru Road, Bunyala Road and Lusaka Road, as well as several streets within the CBD.

In some areas, vehicles were seen partially submerged , while pedestrians waded through knee-deep water, with drainage systems struggling to handle the volumes of water from the rain.

Red Cross noted that the situation was aggravated by the fact that the Nairobi River and Ngong River both overflowed, leading to flooding incidents in areas typically not known to have such challenges.

Emergency response teams have since been deployed to assist residents caught up in the floods, with Red Cross’ Aqua rescue teams responding to several incidents across the city during the night.

In one incident, rescue teams saved 11 people who were stranded inside a matatu which became overwhelmed by rising floodwaters along Bunyala Road.

A separate rescue operation in Kilimani saw two children evacuated from a flooded house.

While no fatalities were reported from the latest wave at the time of this publication, official police stats claim 62 people have lost their lives since the floods began.