At least 42 people killed in days of floods across Kenya

At least 42 people have been killed in days of floods across Kenya, the government has said.

Heavy rains have triggered flash floods across several regions of the country since Friday.

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Kenya’s Public Service and Special Programmes Minister Geoffrey Ruku told reporters on Sunday that police had documented 42 deaths since then, including 26 in the capital, Nairobi.

Police said deaths were reported in multiple counties as torrential rains battered large parts of the country over the weekend, flooding roads and disrupting transport and daily activities in several towns. The floods had also done extensive damage to infrastructure and livelihoods.

In Nairobi, floodwaters swept through low-lying neighbourhoods and informal settlements, submerging homes and carrying away vehicles as rivers overflowed their banks.

Kenya Airways also said the rains had disrupted flights to Nairobi and ⁠forced some to divert to the coastal city of Mombasa.

On Saturday, aid workers ⁠pulled bodies from floodwaters across the capital.

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 on Saturday.

“In addition, the Government will meet the hospital bills of those injured or affected by the flooding and currently receiving treatment in public health facilities,” Ruto wrote.

Authorities said the support aims to ease the burden on households affected by the tragedy.

“These floods once again highlight the urgent need for lasting solutions to the perennial challenge of flooding in our urban areas,” the president said.

Scientists say global warming is worsening floods and droughts across East Africa by ⁠concentrating rainfall into shorter, more intense bursts.

Neighbouring countries like Somalia and Ethiopia are also affected.

A 2024 ⁠World Weather Attribution study found climate change had made devastating rains in the region twice as likely as before.

The Kenyan Red Cross said hundreds of households in neighbouring counties had also been affected, and vast swaths of farmland destroyed.

“I would call for joint efforts between the government humanitarian agencies to deal with this problem, and to understand why we are having this havoc,” Red Cross spokesman Munir Ahmed told the AFP news agency.