Heavy Downpour Wreaks Havoc in Nairobi, Thousands Left Stranded

Thousands of city residents were on Thursday morning left stranded after heavy rainfall left many areas flooded.

The heavy downpour, which started at around 6.30am brought business to standstill in the Kenyan capital, causing heavy traffic along most roads leading to the city.

Most affected areas included; Moi Avenue, Tom Mboya street, Racecourse Road, Ronald Ngala Street, Haile Selassie Avenue, Temple Road, Kimathi Street among others.

Mombasa Road, Uhuru Highway, Jogoo road and Limuru Road were also adversely affected.

Motorists plying Uhuru Highway, Waiyaki Way, Thika Road, Jogoo Road, Mombasa Road and other networks experienced difficulties navigating through the flood waters.

The floods also cut off roads and bridges outside the city, rendering the roads impassable.

Some commuters were forced to remove their shoes as others parted with cash to get 'lifts' from porters, boda bodas and pull carts. Others remained stranded in the streets after finding passages to their workplaces flooded.

Last week, the Kenya Meteorological Department issued an alert warning of heavy rains and flooding in various parts of the country, including; Nairobi, Western, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Northern, Southeastern, Coast and Central.

A similar situation was witnessed last week after heavy rains.