At least 23 people have lost their lives following severe flash floods in Nairobi, police confirmed on Saturday, as search and rescue efforts continued amid extensive destruction across the city.
Heavy rainfall pounded the Kenyan capital late on Friday, transforming major roads into flowing streams and inundating thousands of homes and businesses.
By Saturday, emergency responders were still recovering bodies and rescuing residents trapped by the floods. Journalists at the scene observed significant damage to roads and infrastructure, affecting both densely populated informal settlements and affluent districts such as Parklands.
“The river banks broke as the rains continued and cars were swept off and water flowed into our shops destroying property for many people,” said Frederick Wasonga, a car accessories dealer in the city centre.
Residents were seen retrieving belongings from the retreating floodwaters in downtown Nairobi after the overnight downpour caused extensive flooding on March 7, 2026.
Derrick Juma, a panel beater working nearby, said two of his neighbours had died during the disaster.
“One person was electrocuted… Another one was heavily rained on and as he took cover outside a restaurant, he died out in the cold,” Juma told AFP.
Police reported that at least 29 individuals were rescued overnight and said officers “remain fully deployed, actively responding to distress calls and continuing with search and rescue missions” as further rainfall began late on Saturday.
“We are seeing devastation… A huge number of areas in the city were affected, but also counties all over the country,” said Kenyan Red Cross spokesman Munir Ahmed.
President William Ruto announced that he had directed the deployment of an emergency response team to coordinate relief and rescue operations.
“We recognise that these floods once again highlight the urgent need for lasting solutions to the perennial challenge of flooding in our urban areas,” he wrote on X.
The disaster has sparked widespread criticism of Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja, who had pledged to address drainage and road infrastructure problems when he assumed office in 2022.
“Sakaja should be in jail not in office,” prominent activist Nelson Amenya wrote on X.
“There’s no storm water drainage system… I haven’t seen any active flood management or even preparation for it by the county of Nairobi,” he added.
Several studies have documented a rise in the frequency of extreme wet and dry weather patterns in East Africa over the past two decades, including research on rainfall variability published in Scientific Reports in 2024.
Last month, AFP reported on an emergency-level drought in northeastern Mandera County that resulted in the deaths of large numbers of livestock.
Neighbouring countries such as Somalia and Ethiopia have also been affected by similar climatic conditions.
Kenya Airways said it had to divert several flights scheduled for Nairobi to Mombasa due to the severe weather.
The Kenyan Red Cross also reported that hundreds of households in neighbouring counties had been impacted, with extensive areas of farmland destroyed.
“I would call for joint efforts between the government humanitarian agencies to deal with this problem, and to understand why we are having this havoc,” Ahmed said.