Featured In: LinkedIn — The Green Pulse,Date: March 16, 2026
In recent weeks, Kenya has experienced unprecedented flooding with reports indicating approx. 62 fatalities, including children, and over 2,000 families displaced, with Nairobi alone accounting for 33 deaths as of March 14, 2026.
I experienced this firsthand on the roads that Friday evening when I almost faced the unthinkable, dare I write it here lest I receive side eye judgment? And again in my home area, where water breached a wall structure.
The severity of the situation is alarming. In a single day, one storm delivered more than a month’s average rainfall, leading to deaths from flooding and electrocution, emphasizing that the effects of water can manifest through infrastructure failures and everyday hazards.
And although the Kenya Meteorological Department had issued warnings about heavy rainfall and advised the public to avoid moving water, the consequences illustrate the real challenges of preparedness.
Looking at the aftermath, whether publicly or in private, disasters remind us that everything is interconnected.
The UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction defines disasters as hazardous events interacting with vulnerable conditions, resulting in significant losses across human, material, economic, and environmental domains. The economic repercussions of floods are profound; they disrupt household priorities, diverting planned expenditures toward repairs, medical costs, and relocation. This financial shock can propel families deeper into poverty, a reality echoed by the World Bank, which notes that natural disasters push millions into poverty annually.
In Kenya, the recent floods have also shifted public budgets. The government’s decision to release food supplies from national reserves exemplifies how climate impacts necessitate rapid reallocations of limited resources.
What then must we do to address the root causes of such risks?
The answer lies in understanding that although floods appear sudden, the risk that produces them is built over years through poor urban planning and governance.
When urban growth outpaces drainage capacity or when development intrudes on natural waterways, even moderate rainfall can have devastating effects. A recent Nairobi assessment illustrates this: heavy rainfall causes water to overflow from roads and roofs into residential areas due to inadequate stormwater drainage.
Poor waste management further exacerbates the problem, clogging systems and increasing health risks.
We must therefore embrace the principle that “water will always find its way” hence the call for effective governance and infrastructure maintenance to ensure urban ecosystems function properly.
At the heart of this, are the synergies and trade-offs we must make as a community to thrive:
Synergies we can design for
Drainage + livelihoods: When drainage corridors are preserved and kept functional, transport reliability and local commerce improve, and emergency response becomes easier.
Green space + flood buffering: Green infrastructure (soakaways, retention areas, vegetated corridors) can reduce runoff and provide co-benefits like cooling, biodiversity, and improved public space, only if maintained and protected.
Early warning + early action: Forecasting saves more lives when warnings are connected to action and this includes preparedness, evacuation support, and social protection for households that cannot avoid all losses.
Trade-offs we must face honestly
Housing now vs. safety later: Restricting settlement in flood-prone zones can be socially and politically hard, especially where affordable land is scarce, but the alternative is repeated loss, displacement, and long-term insecurity.
Short-term fixes vs. system resilience: Rapid “spot improvements” (patching one road, clearing one drain once) can feel productive, but without a coherent drainage and land-use approach, risk is simply shifted downstream or to the next low-lying neighborhood.
Hard defenses vs. room for water: Flood walls can protect specific assets, but if they narrow flow paths or fail under higher extremes, consequences can cascade and create new vulnerabilities if not managed alongside natural floodplain restoration efforts.
If the floods have highlighted vulnerabilities in your community or business, it’s not too late to take action.
Communities and businesses can implement immediate safety measures such as avoiding riverside or flood prone areas during heavy rain, switching off electricity when flooding occurs, and fostering community engagement by establishing “no dumping” zones to safeguard natural waterways.
The reality is that recovery from floods can become a continuous challenge unless we address the upstream decisions that lead to vulnerability in the first place. This involves ensuring we not only take personal responsibility but also put the right leadership and governance structures in place when the time comes.
The choices we make today will determine how we navigate the challenges of tomorrow.
