Two years after the Mathare floods, survivors are safe but still scarred
National
By
Rosa Agutu
| Jul 20, 2026
When the rains returned to Nairobi this year, 22-year-old Wendy Ochieng did something she had never been able to do while living along the Mathare River: she slept through the night. Two years after floodwaters swept through her neighbourhood, forcing her family to leave everything behind, she now lives on higher ground. But safety has come at a cost, the trauma of that night is still raw.
Walking along Mathare River two years later, the river tells a different story. The crowded rows of iron-sheet houses that once stood metres from the water are gone. In their place is a wide, open corridor cleared after the floods and demolitions that followed.
On April 24, 2024, at around 9 pm when the rains started, Wendy thought it was the normal rain. They would just lift their belongings, place them on the roof and the water would pass. However, this time it was different the water did not stop.
"When I realised this was not the normal rain, I took my younger siblings out of the house, then tried going back for our belongings, but it was too late. The house had been swept away."
The next few days were hectic for Wendy and her younger siblings. During the day they would get relief food, but at night they had to look for a place to sleep. Wendy started taking care of her 3 siblings after her mother died and her father left for upcountry.
She finally got an iron sheet house to live in but had to vacate due to lack of rent. After surviving on casual jobs like washing clothes and cleaning homes for people, she was finally able to rent a house paying Sh4,000 per month, inclusive of the electricity bill.
"Since we are on higher ground this time when it rained, I did not worry about losing our belongings or life," she says.
Wendy, however, says it has not been a walk in the park.
"It was traumatic. It's like a wound that will never heal. Whenever it starts raining, my mind always goes back to that night; it's like reliving it all over again. There’s fear."
Apart from belongings, she also lost her friends. Some died, others relocated.
Wendy hopes to further her education one day and get a stable job.
Sophia Akinyi, the Mathare 4A Community Champion, was also affected by the floods.
"I was in the house, then I received a call from the area Chief to announce that all the children should be taken to Mathare 4A Primary School. I walked around announcing but I couldn't get too far. There was water all over. There was an elderly lady who lived with her 6 children. They all died," she says
Sophia says well-wishers and NGOs came to ease the burden. However, apart from floods, there were other predicaments.
"There were defilement cases where a child would get lost, then get defiled. Some men left their wives with children. They just disappeared, fearing the burden," she says
Sophia narrates that apart from the floods, the demolition that followed also affected them because they were not prepared.
"We have not healed. Whenever I pass near the river, I remember the incident. I slept outside with my children during the floods and during the demolitions. My son was a Form Four candidate at Onjiko Boys. He lost everything in the floods, but the principal was very understanding. He told him to just go to school, then they would provide the essentials,"
Her younger children are still traumatised whenever it rains. They ask whether their house will be taken by the floods.
Sophia took us to her new home; it's made of iron sheets but she feels safe.
However, not all residents who moved were affected by the floods in March this year. Susan Anyango, who lost all her belongings and her husband in the 2024 floods, says that she feels her life took a nose dive.
"I came here thinking things would be different, but when the rains started everything was soaked. My son has not gone to school because one shoe went with the floods. Today I have not gone for my casual jobs, so a neighbour just gave me Sh100 to buy something for my children," she says
The other fear is that their houses are near a cliff that has brought a different kind of fear.
"Sometimes we feel like this cliff will fall on us and harm us. A few years ago, the other side of the cliff fell and killed people they had to demolish the houses that were close to the cliff," she says
While many residents are still rebuilding emotionally others have started rebuilding the river itself, Joseph Kadenge together with other residents decided to plant trees, fruits and vegetables along the river banks.
"We decided to do this to protect the environment and to provide food, because once I have vegetables all I need is ugali. We get the seeds and seedlings from well-wishers and sometimes from the area Chief," he says
Psychological Trauma
Psychological therapist Nathan Kamau,says surviving a disaster that claimed so many lives changes a person deeply.
“It is normal to ask, "Why did I survive when so many others didn't?" This is known as survivor's guilt, and it is a common response after traumatic events. It is not a sign of weakness or selfishness it is a reflection of the heart trying to make sense of overwhelming loss,”
Nathan says that trauma such an experience is normal. When it begins to rain, the brain remembers the danger before the mind can remind itself that the present moment is different from the past.
“This is the nervous system trying to protect you. Instead of fighting the fear, gently acknowledge it: "My body remembers what happened, but I am safe right now. With time, patience, and support, the brain can learn that not every rainfall means another tragedy,” he says.
Nathan says healing begins by allowing yourself to grieve. Speak about what happened with trusted family members, friends, or a mental health professional. Cry when you need to. Share the stories of those who were lost. Grief that is expressed slowly becomes lighter; grief that is buried often grows heavier.
Nathan concludes that the floods may have taken many lives, but it does not have to take away the possibility of peace. Healing is possible, one day, one breath, and one courageous step at a time.
Way forward
As much as lives were not lost in Mathare during the 2026 March-April rains, in other areas lives were lost. According to the National Police Service at least 112 died across the country. Nairobi recorded the highest fatalities, with 27 deaths overnight and 71 vehicles swept away in a single weekend.
The experiences of families in Mathare mirror a global challenge discussed at the 13th World Urban Forum (WUF13) in Baku, Azerbaijan, where governments, urban planners and development partners warned that cities are increasingly on the frontline of climate change. Under the theme "Housing the World: Safe and Resilient Cities and Communities," delegates emphasized that rapid urbanization, combined with more frequent extreme weather events, is placing millions of people living in informal settlements at greater risk.
"We may not know what the future holds, but we do know the realities people face today: the climate crisis, displacement, conflict and destruction. Amid these challenges, over a billion people still live in precarious conditions, without reliable access to water, sanitation, electricity, decent work or education trapped in poor health conditions where disease spreads and children suffer most," said Anacláudia Rossbach is the Executive Director of UN-Habitat
A key message from the forum was that disaster recovery should not end with relocating families from high-risk areas. Cities were urged to invest in resilient housing, reliable infrastructure, protected waterways and inclusive planning that enables communities to rebuild their lives and livelihoods. Participants also stressed that the voices of residents, especially those living in informal settlements, must be central to decisions on urban development and climate adaptation.
In Kenya, authorities continue to warn people against settling near riverbanks as weather patterns become more unpredictable.
According to Joseph Muracia, The Chief Executive Officer of Nairobi Planning Crisis, many of the flooding incidents have been exacerbated by encroachment of riparian reserves, flood plains, obstruction of natural waterways and construction of permanent structures within the riparian land.
“As part of the ongoing Nairobi rivers regeneration program the national government and county government of Nairobi working through a multi-agency team under the leadership of Nairobi Rivers Commission are undertaking riparian demarcation,”
Mumo Musuva, the Vice Chairman of Nairobi Rivers’ Commission, says there are claims that flooding is caused by the insufficient size of the drainage systems in the city and being blocked.
“The Government is dealing with issues of riparian and river engineering and restoring natural rivers where we can, widening river channels in some cases up to 30 meters,”
Patrick Analo, Chief Officer Urban Planning Nairobi County, said the County Government is committed to protecting and preserving the rivers that traverse Nairobi.
“We are fully supporting this program in terms of providing necessary records, personnel, planning process and the execution
Bernard Kila, County Chief Officer in charge of burrows at the sub-county administration, said the County government had promised to have 6 burrows that were now in place.
“We are calling for cooperation from the people of Nairobi and more so the communities bordering the riparian land. We want to tell them that in the short run, when we are executing this project, it might appear like it’s painful, but when we look at the future, the business opportunities this project will create it outweighs the short-term pain we will undergo as a community,” he said
The March to May floods in 2024 led to 294 fatalities nationally and 200,000 displaced in the Mathare area.
As another rainy season approaches, Wendy still remembers the night the river swept away everything she owned. She says the fear never completely disappears. “But unlike before, I no longer worry that my younger siblings will be carried away by floodwaters.”
For many families, displacement meant far more than moving to a different house. It meant losing neighbours who had become family, walking farther to work, changing schools, paying higher rent and rebuilding lives without the support systems they had relied on for years.