Floods nightmare reminds us of need to care for environment

Flooded houses in Kware area, Embakasi South, May 3, 2024.[Robert Tomno, Standard]

Long before glass and concrete towers defined its skyline, the Maasai called this place Enkare Nairobi, the place of cool waters. It was a landscape of greenery, wetland, and streams where water moved gracefully across the land before feeding the rivers that still run through the city today. What we see today is a distortion of that natural order, and it has come at a heavy price.

Two weeks after the deadly floods that claimed dozens of lives, destroyed homes, and rendered roads impassable, Nairobi continues to experience fresh flooding whenever heavy rains fall. Just this past weekend, some sections of the city were submerged, leaving motorists stranded and in need of emergency rescue. The pattern is certainly worrying.