Residents of Runda estate have resorted to buying boats as a way of transportation into their homes as many of the houses in the area have remained flooded despite the reduced rainfall.
Speaking to the press, one of the residents revealed that there was a dam in the area that was privately owned and did not have an outlet. Therefore, all the excess water in the dam was being channeled into their homes.
Further, they lamented that many of their property including vehicles had been destroyed by the stagnant water.
The residents have called on the national government and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to come to their rescue and help them establish a working drainage system in the area.
“The Runda Association say that they are going to do something but very quickly when the water goes down, they forget it. They say that the big dam that is supposed to drain the water is now private property, and they can do nothing about it,” one of the residents said.
“We are requesting the county government that they give us a full drainage system so that when this water comes to the dam, it has an outlet. The dam apparently does not have an outlet and the outlet is our homes,” another added.
Additionally, one of the homeowners indicated that they decided to move back into their homes despite the relentless flooding adding that they were in need of urgent assistance.
“We are just wondering that after many years of not experiencing any kind of floods, this time we are hearing that houses are flooding in this section of Runda. It must be because someone has blocked the waterways,” she said.
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Nairobi Estates Affected by Floods Aside from Runda
Nairobi County officials reported that 34 areas across nine sub-counties were affected by floods especially slum areas.
Among areas affected in Nairobi County are estates such as Roysambu, Kahawa Sukari, Imara Daima, and Buruburu, Makadara, South C and Thika road areas.
Others include Nairobi West Estate, Nyayo High Rise Estate in Mbagathi, Kileleshwa, Athi River and Runda.
Some areas along Waiyaki Way include Kinoo, Kikuyu, Westlands, Mountain View, and Kabete. Jamhuri, Komarock, Woodley, Kitusuru, and Loresho were all unaffected.
“Many parts of Nairobi experienced heavy rains overnight, resulting in flash floods in areas such as Mukuru, Mathare, Huruma, Ruaraka, Baba Dogo, Bosnia, Umoja 3, Choka, Njiru, Ruai, Utawala, Githurai, Kahawa, Eastern Bypass, Kinoo, Kijabe, Limuru, Ruiru, Graceland, Joska, Kaswito, Kicheko, Mangili, Kenyatta Road, Juja, Kitengela, and Magadi,” Red Cross noted in a past statement.
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Replacement of IDs for Flood Victims
Immigration and Citizen Services Principal Secretary Julius Bitok on Friday, May 10, announced that government has set up an emergency desk at Nyayo House, Nairobi to fast track the replacement of National Identity Cards and personal registration documents lost in the floods.
Bitok said that the desk will serve as a centralized location for flood victims to report their lost documents and obtain replacements as quickly as possible.
“We have set up a center at Nyayo House where you can report as an emergency so that those who have lost their documents in the raging floods can replace them in the shortest time possible,” he stated.
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