Days of heavy rains have pummeled parts of Kenya, leaving at least 32 dead, 15 injured and more than 40,000 people displaced, according to officials. They said that flooding had killed nearly 1,000 farm animals and destroyed thousands of acres of crops, with more rain expected across the country.
The rains began in March during what is known in the country as the “long rains,” but precipitation intensified over the past week, according to the Kenya Meteorological Department.
In Nairobi, where some of the heaviest rain has fallen, more than 30,000 people have been displaced, according to the United Nations. On Tuesday, 18 people, including seven children, were stranded, and later rescued, in Nairobi after heavy rain, the Kenya Red Cross Society said.
Edwin Sifuna, a senator in Nairobi County, said on social media that the local government there was “clearly overwhelmed,” and he called on the federal government for help.
“The situation in Nairobi has escalated to extreme levels,” he wrote in a post that included video of people stranded on rooftops surrounded by floodwaters.
The rains were not expected to subside over the next few days, according to the Kenya Meteorological Department, which had rain in the forecast for parts of the country, including Nairobi, through Monday.
Here are photos of the flooding:
A man crossing a flooded river on a pipeline in Mathare, a neighborhood of slums in Nairobi where many live in tin shacks.
A man swimming through floodwaters to try to rescue people stranded in their homes in Ngondo Village in Mathare.
Residents of Mathare tried to salvage goods from their homes.
Residents of Ngondo Village tried to clear muddy water from their homes.
People clung to buses and trucks to avoid flooded roadways in Nairobi.
Dozens of people in Mathare were stranded in their homes after heavy rains.
Flooding caused widespread damage in Nairobi.
People in the Githurai area used a boat to get through floodwaters.
Flooding in a settlement in Machakos County inundated entire roadways.
From a bridge, two men watched the swollen Athi River near Nairobi.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
