Nairobi pays price of poor planning and bad drainage

After only two days of heavy rains, Nairobi was rendered a fatal ‘swamp’ that has so far claimed at least 14 lives, injured dozens and left a huge trail of destruction.

The flooding has exposed years of systemic neglect, shameful land grabbing, unplanned buildings and a pathetic drainage system.

Some city residents had to literally swim to their houses.

The most affected are the city’s poor living in deplorable conditions in the slums even as motorists experienced nightmares on the roads turned into rivers and school children caught up in stalled buses.

Wednesday morning, the body of a man was recovered inside his car in South C after drowning on Tuesday night as floods wreaked havoc in horrific scenes witnessed in various parts of the city.

Two other bodies - one lying in the trenches and another swept away by floods in South C, were also recovered. South C was the hardest hit as swathes of the neighbourhood were submerged in water.

The terrifying Tuesday night was highlighted by the experience of 11 Makini School pupils trapped for over 10 hours in their bus stalled in floods in South C.

They were being dropped home after school when their school bus stalled near South C Mosque. They spent hours in the cold until 4.30am when they were finally rescued.

It was a night of horror for motorists stuck in traffic for hours, while the unfortunate had their vehicles swept away. Some families had the raging floods burst into their homes, disrupting their sleep.

City residents are now paying the price for building on water ways, poor city planning, unmaintained drainage systems and encroachment of riparian land and storm flood waterways.

On Monday, nine people were killed after a perimeter wall collapsed on their structures in Mukuru Fuata Nyayo, South B and another two drowned along Jogoo Road and Dagoretti area.

Traffic gridlock characterised most roads on Tuesday evening and the situation could be worse in the next five days as the weatherman told Kenyans to brace for more rains in coming days. Meteorological Services Director Peter Ambenje said more rains will be expected in Nairobi and other parts of the country in the next five days.

But he explained that these are not El Nino rains, which are often experienced between October-November and December and at times extend to January.

The Tuesday rains did not spare the high and mighty as Deputy President William Ruto’s motorcade was stuck in the jam for hours along Ngong Road as it navigated its way to his Karen home.

Several roads were rendered impassable by the heavy downpour that started around 7pm as some motorists got lost trying to use other routes to beat the traffic. Goons took advantage of the situation and robbed several motorists.

Ancellah Kessio said she arrived at her Ngong home a few minutes to 2am, and witnessed passengers and motorists being robbed along Waithaka Road where a bridge had been washed away.

“It was one bad and long and torturous journey,” said Ancellah, a teacher at Uhuru Secondary School in Eastlands.”

 Swimming pools

Some motorists found their cars submerged while some houses were literally turned into swimming pools in Eastlands. The situation was not different in Kileleshwa as roads were turned into pools, giving motorists terrifying experiences.

Along Nairobi-Mombasa highway, cars were almost submerged near the Imara Daima junction.

In Umoja Innercore and Donholm estates, most houses were flooded as water flowed from the roads.

A spot check by The Standard team established that area residents had gumboots on while others carried extra clothes to their work places.

Most drainages had been blocked by garbage which residents and traders said the county government had not collected in the past one week.

At Stewel supermarket in Umoja, attendants said gumboots were selling like hot cakes. “They are out of stock now, but we have ordered for more,” an attendant said.

Most roads were still flooded by early Wednesday  and boda boda riders made a kill as matatu operators did not reach parts of the estates.

Sammy Otieno, a boda boda rider, said he had ferried more than 20 people to various hospitals in the area; most with children.

Ambenje said the flooding had been caused by heavy surface run-off occasioned by blocked drainage systems. He also blamed over saturated soils which could no-longer allow percolation of water.

Recovery fund

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero in a tweet, assured Nairobians that the county government was doing its best to unclog blocked drainage systems. While conveying his condolences to the bereaved families, Dr Kidero said the intensity of the rainfall was above normal.

“I would like to assure Nairobians that the county government in collaboration with Kenya National Highways Authority and Kenya Urban Roads Authority are doing their best to unclog all blocked drainage systems in the city to ensure smooth and efficient flow of water,” Kidero said.

The county government has set up a Sh50 million emergency recovery fund. The fund will be used largely to clear and unblock clogged drainage channels and re-construct damaged roads.

Meanwhile, the Government has pledged to recruit 2,000 youths from Mukuru Fuata Nyayo in South B, Nairobi, to assist in flood responses in the area. Devolution CS Anne Waiguru said the youths will be recruited as part of the National Youth service (NYS) rescue team.  She said they will clear the debris and open up flooded areas. She added that 10,000 NYS servicemen will be deployed in the city to unclog drainage systems.

“In the long term, Nairobi needs to address encroachment of riparian land and storm flood plains,” she said.

Area MP Maina Kamanda also pledged to support families whose relatives died in the floods disaster. The MP said the CDF kitty will support education of the children whose parents perished in the incident.

Nairobi Deputy Governor Jonathan Mueke said they will give bereaved families Sh30, 000 each to cater for funeral expenses.