Thousands of Kenyans in the Nairobi metropolitan area have been left homeless; thousands more are sleeping on top of their homes’ roofs. This follows days of intense floods that have battered many areas in Kenya, with Nairobi and its surrounding areas among the hardest hit.
Shockingly, the government is nowhere to be seen. Kenyans have been left to fight the floods on their own as well as rescue each other from rooftops and rivers.
Photos and videos circulating on social media show flooding along Thika Superhighway, Kahawa Wendani, Kahawa Sukari, Kenyatta University, and Juja.
These floods have also been reported in upmarket areas including Runda area. At Gracelands Estate in Athi River, residents were rescued from their flooded homes in boats. In Githurai area, Kenyans were spotted rescuing women and children who were stuck on rooftops with boats.
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Videos have also shown brave Kenyans who have taken it upon themselves to rescue women and children from the rooftops in slum areas.
At 360 Phase Two estate in Syokimau, residents have been battling flood waters that are currently near waistline.
By Wednesday, ten bodies had reportedly been pulled out of the Mathare River with 8 other people reportedly missing and suspected to have drowned.
On Wednesday, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga made an appeal to the government to wake up and mobilize the necessary resources to help Kenyans under floods.
“It is our urgent appeal that the President and government hereby declare the floods a national disaster and immediately activate all emergency mechanisms including military disaster response teams,” said Raila.
Alarmingly, the Kenya Meteorological Department has warned Kenyans to brace for more rain in the coming days.