Heavy rains kill four as floods hit Nairobi

Pedestrian passover handcart as they avoid floods along Moi Avenue, Nairobi. [PHOTO:BONIFACE OKENDO/Standard]

At least four people died yesterday evening after a perimeter wall collapsed on them, along Lenana Road, Nairobi due to heavy rains. Kilimani police boss Peter Katam said those who died were taking shelter, before disaster struck.

“The four people were sheltering from the heavy rains which started at around the better part of Friday afternoon. We urge motorists and city residents to be cautious,” said Mr Kattam.

Following the tragedy, Lenana Road at Department of Defence (DOD) and Russian Embassy road were closed causing a heavy traffic snarl up.

Nairobi Traffic boss Leonard Katana told The Standard on Saturday that the roads rendered impassable included Uhuru Highway, Ojijo Road, Bunyala Road, Jogoo Road, Jakaya Kikwete Road, Valley Road near DOD and Milimani Road.

“The roads are flooded and fire engines cannot pass,” said Katana.

Motorists spent long hours in traffic jam, as others stayed in offices for long hours waiting for the rains to subside.

This happened just a day after a heavy downpour on Thursday afternoon which left most city dwellers stranded.

A video circulating in social media of a woman escaping from a matatu stuck in a flooded road in Industrial Area, caused a stir with social media users calling upon the Nairobi County Government to put in place measures to handle flood waters.

In the clip, the woman is seen escaping through the window of a public service vehicle and assisted by cart pushers to cross the flooded road.

Stephen Kabure, who resides along Thika Road called upon the county government to put measures in place to prevent such occurrences in future.

And as expected, some Kenyans took advantage of the situation to make a kill. At Kencom stage in Nairobi, a section of Kenyans charged Sh50 to carry people across the flooded roads.

The heavy rains that started late afternoon have interrupted electricity supply in parts of the city.

In a statement to newsrooms, Kenya Power urged affected customers to be patient. “Kenya Power highly regrets any inconvenience the interruptions have caused to the customers and requests for patience as the restoration exercise is underway,” the statement reads in part.