Aid workers pulled bodies from floodwaters across Nairobi on Saturday after flash floods that began overnight killed at least 23 people, swept away dozens of cars and disrupted flights at East Africa's biggest airport, authorities said.
Kenyan President William Ruto said he had deployed a team of emergency responders, including soldiers, to coordinate rescue efforts, while offering condolences to the affected communities.
"I have also ordered that relief food from our national strategic reserves be immediately released and distributed to families affected by the floods," he said in a statement on social media.
In the industrial neighbourhood of Grogan, security guard John Lomayan, 34, looked at the body of an elderly man he recognised - a roadside egg seller - trapped beneath a car that had been washed away when the Nairobi River burst its banks.
"I saw him being carried by the water from up there," he said, gesturing up the road. "We didn't know where he had gone.
It is only now that we see him under the car".
Bus driver John Mwai recounted how he turned his bus into a rescue vehicle to move people to higher ground.
A Reuters reporter saw three bodies pulled from underneath cars. Some of the dead had been electrocuted by damaged power lines. National provider Kenya Power separately said the waters had damaged equipment at a substation, listing 14 neighbourhoods that had been affected.
"So many cars, so much stuff, I don't know. Everything was just (washed away). All of the water (came) ... from that river," shocked resident Cedric Mwanza said, referring to the Nairobi River.
Disaster response
Authorities said floodwaters surged through parts of the city overnight, trapping motorists and forcing residents in some areas to wade or swim to safety.
Police said at least 71 vehicles were swept away as floodwaters surged across low-lying sections of the city, leaving roads impassable and bringing traffic to a standstill in several neighborhoods.
Many homes and businesses have also been left underwater as drainage systems were overwhelmed by the heavy rainfall.
The flooding has disrupted transport and commercial activity in parts of Nairobi, with some communities reporting significant property losses.
Public Service and Special Programs Minister Geoffrey Ruku said Saturday that he had convened a high-level emergency meeting to coordinate the government’s response to the disaster and review measures to assist affected residents.
Kenya Airways said the rains had disrupted flights to Nairobi and forced some to divert to the coastal city of Mombasa.
The floods also damaged the electricity infrastructure, triggering a power outage in several areas after a substation was affected by rising water levels.
Authorities said technicians were working to restore electricity while emergency crews continue monitoring rivers and drainage channels as rains persist across the capital.
Scientists say global warming is worsening floods and droughts across East Africa by concentrating rainfall into shorter, more intense bursts. A 2024 World Weather Attribution study found climate change had made devastating rains in the region twice as likely as before.
