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When the rains came, they came fast.

In early March 2026, torrential downpours swept across Kenya, overwhelming Nairobi and other regions. Roads turned into rivers, homes were submerged, and families were forced to flee with little warning. Dozens of people have died, and thousands more have been displaced.

But while the rainfall was extreme, the scale of the disaster was not unexpected.

This is what happens when heavy rain meets a system already under strain.

When rain overwhelms a city

Nairobi’s flooding problem is not new. As the city has expanded rapidly, infrastructure has struggled to keep up. Drainage systems in many areas are either poorly maintained, undersized, or blocked altogether.

So when intense rainfall hits, the water has nowhere to go.

Instead of being absorbed or safely redirected, it builds up-flooding roads, homes and entire neighbourhoods. Even areas not traditionally considered high-risk are becoming more vulnerable.

Living on the frontlines of risk

For many people, especially in informal settlements, flooding is not just an occasional threat-it is a constant reality.

Poverty forces families to build where they can: along riverbanks, on floodplains, and in low-lying areas that are highly exposed to rising water. Homes are often made from temporary materials and lack basic drainage or protection.

When floods arrive, these communities are hit first-and hardest.

This is where climate change becomes deeply unequal. Those with the fewest resources face the greatest risks, despite contributing the least to the problem.

Planning failures—and political ones

The roots of Nairobi’s flooding go beyond weather.

Weak enforcement of planning regulations has allowed construction in high-risk areas. Poor waste management clogs drainage channels. Long-standing gaps in urban governance mean problems are identified-but not fixed.

These are systemic failures, not one-off mistakes.

And each year, they compound the impact of heavy rains.

Climate change: the threat multiplier

Seasonal rains are a normal part of Kenya’s climate. But climate change is making those rains more intense and less predictable.

More rain is falling in shorter periods of time. That increases the likelihood of flash flooding-especially in places  that are already struggling to cope.

In other words, climate change doesn’t create these vulnerabilities-but it makes their impacts far worse.

What needs to change

The solutions are not complicated-but they do require commitment:

Investing in and maintaining effective drainage systems

Protecting natural flood buffers like wetlands

Enforcing building regulations in high-risk areas

Improving waste management to prevent blockages

Strengthening  community preparedness.

These are practical steps. But they depend on political will and long-term planning-both of which are often in short supply.

A disaster we keep repeating

There is a pattern to disasters like this.

Heavy rains fall. Floodwaters rise. Lives are lost. Promises are made.

Then, too often, the cycle repeats.

The tragedy in Nairobi is not just the flooding itself-it’s that the damage is so predictable, and so unevenly felt.

Until cities are planned with both people and climate in mind, these events will not remain rare.

They will become routine.