Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Mar 09, 2026 8:12 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 hours ago

The death toll from heavy rains and flooding in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, and elsewhere has nearly doubled to 42, the government said ‌in a statement issued late on Sunday.

Intense rains on Friday unleashed heavy and widespread flooding, causing some people to drown, washing ​away vehicles and disrupting traffic at ​the country's largest airport.

The previous death toll was 23. The Nairobi police chief late last week said that in addition to drownings, some deaths were caused by electrocution.

The floods had also done extensive damage to infrastructure and livelihoods. Officials said 172 vehicles that had been swept away by flood ​waters have been recovered.

On Saturday, President William Ruto said he ⁠had ordered relief food from the country's national strategic ⁠reserves be immediately released for distribution to families affected ⁠by the ⁠floods.

Searches ongoing

Emergency workers from various agencies ​including the military were still conducting search and ⁠rescue operations across ⁠the country, Geoffrey ‌Kiringa Ruku, minister for public service and human capital development, said in the statement.

"Search mission is still in progress by the multi-agency emergency response teams with the aim of ensuring that bodies of all the flood victims are found and ‌retrieved," he said.

Cars are seen submerged after heavy rains flooded roads in Nairobi, Kenya, late on Friday. (Andrew Kasuku/The Associated Press)

Kenya has faced heavy rains since late February, which marks the start of the long-rains season.

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

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