Torrential rains that have unleashed flash floods across Kenya have claimed at least 81 lives this month, authorities said Sunday, as heavy downpours continue to batter large parts of the country.
“The cumulative number of fatalities has unfortunately risen to 81,” national police spokesman Muchiri Nyaga said in a statement.
“Flash floods have swept through multiple areas, displacing roughly 2,690 families and causing extensive damage to infrastructure and property.”
The capital, Nairobi, has been hit hardest, with 37 people killed, Nyaga added.
On Friday night, authorities called on residents to evacuate several slum neighborhoods downstream from the Nairobi dam, warning of an imminent risk of flooding as rising water levels threatened to breach the dam embankment, according to local media.
The dam has held so far.
Two people drowned overnight in floods in the town of Kiambu, just outside the capital, police told AFP.
Two more died as landslides hit the western village of Kasaka, burying numerous homes, reported private broadcaster Citizen TV.
Rain is forecast to continue until Tuesday. Authorities have called for “extreme caution.”
The March rains have repeatedly turned Nairobi streets into raging rivers, flooding thousands of homes and businesses.
Critics have called for the resignation of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, who vowed to improve the capital’s drainage and road infrastructure when he took office in 2022.
Scientists say human-caused climate change is increasing the probability, duration and severity of extreme weather events.
Studies indicate East Africa has experienced more extreme rains and droughts over the past two decades.
