Nairobi: A city that comes to a standstill when it rains

The recent rains have led to losses, damage of property and other inconveniences. Literally, when it rains in Nairobi, it pours!

The heavy downpour on Sunday evening brought down a school perimeter wall on Valley Road occasioning immense danger to passing motorists.

This was made worse by darkness as daylight faded away. The rains morphed into fast moving rivulets of water which brought down walls in Madaraka Estate like little pieces of Lego that children play with. 

Eunice, a resident at Fahari court, who resides near the collapsed perimeter wall remembers hearing a loud bang at around 9 pm and then all went silent - only to wake up in the morning to find pieces of building blocks strewn all around their court and several adjacent ones. 

But just as they began worrying about their security with the wall gone, the rain began pounding mercilessly on Tuesday evening, and by 5 pm, a good part of the estate was completely marooned. 

The downpour visited on them told misery and the raging waters cascading down from Upper Hill area, in the absence of the wall, poured onto roads and walkways with such ferocity that a simple walk across some of the roads in Madaraka Estate became impossible during and a few moments after the rains subsided. 

The roads were completely submerged that not even cars dared drive on and school children were left stranded as they could not make it home however near it was. 

Beginning April 2024, Nairobi and many other parts of Kenya suffered the same fate but albeit with even higher consequences as many lives were lost apart from property that got damaged. 

Many parts of the city, including hitherto unheard of areas such as Runda were destroyed by the floods. 

What came as a surprise though is that the Nairobi City County has not learnt from the past year neither from the past years as this has grown to be a perennial problem. 

The most the Governor of Nairobi proffered today towards the same was that, “Nairobi’s drainage system cannot cope with the heavy rainfall.”

He decried the lack of funding even as he opined that the rains experienced now are heavier than before and many storm drains are blocked or have insufficient capacity to carry away the storm waters. 

He, however, promised to expand the concerned infrastructure to improve the situation. 

What many residents of Nairobi might not know is that the proliferation of structured developments in and around the city are also to blame. 

Over the last 20 years, the buildings that have been put up in places like Upper Hill is almost triple its former status. 

From hotels, to corporate building and to residential buildings, the high-end address is teeming with flashy high end developments which of necessity collect storm water and other circumstances redirect or block old waterways. 

The job of cleaning blocked drainage and improving on existing storm drains belongs to the County Government. But even as they collect revenue from almost anything that moves or occupies space, service delivery remains wanting.

Today, Governor Sakaja says that he is awaiting a report from the built environment experts over the mushrooming of buildings in the city. 

However, what can be done in the meantime to ensure loss of lives and property is avoided? For those in the know, a great part of Madaraka Estate and South C area among other localities, used to be swamps. 

Today, buildings dot the whole landscape that was once a swamp. What alternative waterways were constructed to redirect hitherto directed there to either rivers or further swamps? 

Would the City County government try making regular storm drainage cleaning a matter of routine and not an exception? 

Otherwise, today it is Madaraka Estate, and tomorrow it could be elsewhere just as witnessed in previous years. There are other time-bombs that the city is squatting on, when is the last time the city expanded its garbage management, sewage or water lines? 

The city road network is a pity, a little problem such as a car stalling during the morning traffic creates a traffic hullabaloo of immense proportions. 

A little extension or repair here or there without an overarching masterplan will stitch the tear but its solution lies in following a meticulous urban planning masterplan.

Nairobi used to be known as the “green city in the sun”, however what remains now is a lot of garbage, dust and a forest of stones.  

Buildings can be beautiful but nothing beats nature when it comes to beauty and sustainability. If the County Government of Nairobi finds the city too sprawling; please divide it into boroughs and cascade the responsibilities and activities down to given localities. 

The residents also have a part to play by ensuring cleanliness in their surroundings, and actively participating in their neighborhood residents’ associations to collective achieve the neighborhoods they desire. 

Nairobi City County authorities cannot wish away these predicaments, be proactive and allocate resources and dedication towards making this city livable in 100 years to come.