Kenyans brace for El Niño floods, recalling deadly impacts in Nairobi

Agnes Shikoli, 62, stands on the cracked corrugated‑iron wall of her two‑room home in Kibera, Nairobi’s largest slum, and points to water that rose six feet in March. The Ngong River, which runs just metres from her house, flooded the settlement during the long rains, killing her sister Beatrice Khalayi and more than 60 people across Kenya. With the short rainy season now beginning, Shikoli says she fears a repeat of the disaster, warning that “it can kill us” as El Niño threatens heavier downpours.

Kenya’s climate officials say this year’s El Niño could be one of the strongest on record, bringing unusually intense rains to the country’s southern regions. The previous flood season left a trail of damage: broken appliances, collapsed walls and clogged drainage that forced water into homes that are built of mud and sheet metal rather than stone. Informal settlements like Kibera and Mathare sit on riverbanks or on the river’s slopes, making them especially vulnerable to flash floods that can sweep entire rows of houses away.

In response, the government’s Climate Worx programme, run under President William Ruto’s office, has deployed teams in high‑visibility vests to clear rubbish from the Ngong Riverbed and other Nairobi waterways. Nairobi County disaster‑management chief Bramwell Simiyu told the BBC that the city’s drainage network has been “untouched for many years” and that removing debris is a lifesaving priority. Workers are also unclogging drains across the capital, a massive task given the scale of illegal dumping and the lack of regular maintenance that contributed to the earlier death toll.

Officials say the clean‑up will continue through the rainy season, but experts warn that without long‑term upgrades to sewage and drainage, temporary clearing will not stop future loss of life. Community leaders are urging the city to invest in permanent infrastructure and to relocate families living on riverbanks. As El Niño looms, the stakes are high for Nairobi’s poorest residents, whose homes and lives hang on the next rainstorm.