Days of heavy rain have lashed parts of Kenya, leaving at least 32 dead, 15 injured and more than 40,000 displaced, according to officials. They said the floods had killed almost 1,000 farm animals and destroyed thousands of hectares of crops, with more rain expected across the country.
The rains started in March during what is known in the country as the ‘long rains’, but according to the Kenya Meteorological Department, rainfall has increased over the past week.
In Nairobi, where the heaviest rainfall fell, more than 30,000 people have been displaced, according to the United Nations. On Tuesday, 18 people, including seven children, were stranded in Nairobi after heavy rain, the Kenya Red Cross said.
Edwin Sifuna, a senator in Nairobi County, said further social media that the local government there was “clearly overwhelmed,” and he called on the federal government for help.
“The situation in Nairobi has escalated to extreme levels,” he wrote in a post that included videos of people stranded on rooftops surrounded by flooding.
The rain was not expected to ease in the coming days, according to the Kenya Meteorological Department, which forecast rain for parts of the country including Nairobi through Monday.
Here are photos of the flooding: