18 dead as floods and landslides hit multiple regions in Kenya

Floods and landslides have killed at least 18 people in multiple parts of Kenya. The police stated on Sunday that landslides were reported in Tharaka Nithi, Elgeyo-Marakwet, and Kiambu counties in the country's central and eastern regions. They confirmed that 18 lives had been lost to these incidents.

The police said mudslides are impacting "multiple families, displacing households, and causing significant damage to property and infrastructure", warning residents living in landslide-prone or flood-affected areas to be careful. Streets in the capital city, Nairobi, are overflowing with water. Traders in the city's Makongeni and Ruai neighbourhoods staged protests on Sunday over the poor state of roads amid the rains, saying it was affecting their businesses. Weather authorities earlier on Friday warned that the rains posed health risks in the form of waterborne diseases, and that damage to crops and farmland across the country was likely. In March, floodwaters swelled to the brim in parts of Nairobi, killing at least 37 people.

The East African country is currently experiencing its seasonal March to May rain season, which usually peaks in the first half of May. Fruzsina Straus, head of Disaster Risk Reduction for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), said in a brief last week that "across African cities, water extremes-too much during intense rains and too little during droughts-are driving increasingly severe impacts," adding that "cities must adapt rapidly to this new water volatility".