At least 18 people have died in flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rains across multiple regions of Kenya, authorities reported on Sunday.

Police confirmed that landslides struck Tharaka Nithi, Elgeyo-Marakwet, and Kiambu counties in central and eastern Kenya, resulting in 18 fatalities. Officials urged residents to exercise caution amid the severe weather.

“Mudslides are impacting multiple families, displacing households, and causing significant damage to property and infrastructure,” police said, warning those living in landslide-prone or flood-affected areas to remain vigilant. The number of displaced people remains unclear.

Local media footage showed streets in the capital, Nairobi, submerged in floodwaters, with cars and pedestrians wading through the deluge. In the Makongeni and Ruai neighborhoods, traders staged protests on Sunday over the poor state of roads, claiming the conditions were hurting their businesses.

Weather authorities had warned on Friday that the rains posed health risks from waterborne diseases and could damage crops and farmland nationwide.

This marks the second deadly flooding event in Kenya in less than two months. In March, floods in parts of Nairobi killed at least 37 people.

The East African nation is currently in its seasonal March-to-May rainy season, which typically peaks in the first half of May. However, experts have long warned that human-induced climate change is exacerbating extreme weather in Kenya and other East African countries.

“Across African cities, water extremes—too much during intense rains and too little during droughts—are driving increasingly severe impacts,” said Fruzsina Straus, head of Disaster Risk Reduction for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in a briefing last week. “Cities must adapt rapidly to this new water volatility,” she added.

Source: www.aljazeera.com