Kenyans brace for El Niño rains as flood survivors fear a repeat of 2024 devastation

Residents of Nairobi's Mathare informal settlement are taking precautions against the threats of heavy El Nino rains nearly two years after devastating floods swept away homes, destroyed livelihoods and claimed lives. We decided as Mathare residents to start a river clean up because in 2024 rains really affected us. Before that we never used to do river clean ups. We used to just clean drainage systems near shops, roads and fields but nowadays we're mainly focusing on the river because when it rains and the garbage is in the river, the first person to be affected will be a resident. Nairobi County has identified potential evacuation centers and plans to position rescue personnel, food and other emergency supplies in vulnerable areas before flooding occurs. Based on the learnings you had last time where accessibility to some of those that were affected was a big challenge and you know rescue is a matter of life and death and it's a matter of time so this time we're going to pre-position them. We'll also pre-position the stockpiles in terms of food and non-food in those holding centers. The Kenyan Human Rights Commission warns that residents of informal settlements should not be displaced without adequate consultation, arguing that vulnerable communities should receive the same level of protection and emergency assistance as residents of wealthier neighbourhoods. So that they are not just subjects, but they are part and parcel of preparations for. And we also want equal treatment so that we don't have a situation whereby communities living in the rich neighbourhoods are treated differently, where they are given more considerable responses and those ones in the informal, like the Mathare area, are chased without looking at where they are going. The warning comes as Nairobi continues to grapple with urban planning challenges, encroachment on wetlands and construction in flood-prone areas, factors that increase the city's vulnerability to flooding.