Nairobi, Kenya- The rains haven’t stopped—and neither has the heartbreak. Nairobi is drowning, not just in water but in grief, as devastating floods have killed at least seven people and displaced hundreds across the city.
From informal settlements in Ruaraka to the slums of Mukuru and Mathare, lives are being swept away in the chaos of unrelenting rainfall.
And the skies aren’t clearing anytime soon. According to the Kenya Meteorological Department, the heavy downpour battering the capital is expected to persist, keeping communities on edge as infrastructure buckles and blame piles up.
A Rising Toll: Tragedy Strikes Nairobi Neighborhoods
The face of the flooding crisis is heartbreakingly human. Among the first casualties this week was a 23-year-old mother and her two children in Drive-In, Ruaraka constituency.
Their home was engulfed by a torrent of floodwater, marking just the beginning of a deadly week.
In Mukuru Kwa Reuben, another person was swept away, while two more bodies were pulled from the Ngong River and floodwaters near Jogoo Road.
And in Mathare 4A, a man died after a boulder—loosened by the swollen river—collapsed onto his house. “The structure couldn’t take the overflow,” said Nairobi police commander George Sedah.
According to Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku, over 55 households in Ruaraka have been directly hit, with more than 500 residents displaced.
The floods aren’t just an emergency—they’re a full-blown humanitarian disaster.
“Our Drains Weren’t Built for This”: Sakaja Pleads for Support
Faced with mounting criticism, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja is pushing back, saying the city’s drainage system was simply never designed to handle this level of rainfall.
“We’re getting rain levels far beyond what the system was built for,” he said in an interview.
Sakaja called for the urgent release of the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF), arguing that despite counties like Nairobi managing more than 65pc of Kenya’s roads, they’re being shut out of funding meant to maintain and expand vital infrastructure.
“Everyone pays that fuel levy,” he noted. “But where does it go? National roads. Not to us.”
The governor also pointed to ongoing mitigation efforts, including the deployment of the Green Army—a 3,800-strong youth team tasked with garbage collection and unblocking drains. “They’re doing solid work,” he said. “But it’s time to scale up.”
While local leaders highlight funding gaps and capacity issues, the national government is racing to contain the fallout. CS Ruku announced that the Special Programmes PS has been instructed to convene a multi-agency emergency meeting to chart immediate mitigation strategies.
Relief food and supplies are on the way, and long-term solutions for flood-prone areas are reportedly in development.
“This is a heartbreaking tragedy,” Ruku said. “The government stands with every family affected. We will do everything in our power to protect lives and livelihoods.”
Still, with the Met Department’s flood warning, residents are bracing for more devastation—underscoring the urgent need for coordination, funding, and climate-resilient infrastructure that matches Nairobi’s new weather reality.
From boulders crashing into homes to rivers overtaking roads, Nairobi is learning the hard way that outdated infrastructure and reactive policies can’t stand up to extreme climate events.
As residents wade through waist-deep waters and search for shelter, the city’s leaders are being forced to confront the cost of underinvestment.
Whether it’s unlocking RMLF funds or expanding emergency housing, one thing is clear: the floods are here—and so is the reckoning.
