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Kenya Floods Worsen as Rivers Burst Banks, Death Toll Reaches 88

The rising toll points to fragile drainage that leaves riverside settlements exposed.

Overview

  • Government figures, released Tuesday, put the death toll at 88 and say more than 34,000 people are displaced across 21 counties.
  • The Nyando and Tana rivers burst their banks, swamping the Ahero Bridge and farms near Mbalambala and forcing travel and crop disruptions.
  • Rescue teams led by the Kenya Red Cross evacuated stranded residents, moved more than 900 students from Ahero Girls National School, and pulled families and livestock to higher ground.
  • Nairobi remains the worst hit with 37 deaths as anger grows over clogged drains and unregulated building on riverbanks that funnel water into low-lying settlements.
  • Western counties report villages under water, roughly 1,200 hectares of Kisumu farmland lost and thousands from Nyakach in shelters, with scientists warning heavier rains are growing more likely in a warming climate.