The big rains have arrived in most parts of Kenya. In recent days they have also affected the coastal belt and not only the central regions, the Rift Valley and the Lake Victoria basin.
But there is a difference that has been consolidating for a few years now: the monsoon phenomenon is no longer constant and linear with daily rainfall for about a month and a half, with a start in April when it rains especially at night and a later intense moment at the end of the same month with more continuity. Then there is usually a continuation in May with particularly heavy rain on the coast even in June.
Climate change has also affected the equator and is now moving towards a dynamic more similar to that of western countries. Sudden torrential rain, which can last for a few hours, and sudden clearing up, only to resume at an irregular pace, perhaps even with whole days without water and then violent resumption.
This on the one hand is a boon for nature, on the other hand it can lead to flooding and disasters, especially taking into account the condition of roads, bridges, reservoirs and entire neighbourhoods built without proper precautions or adequate water outlets.
Thus on the first day of flooding in the capital Nairobi, hundreds of people were displaced in the slums and poor areas of the suburbs, with houses swept away by the fury of rivulets that became flooding torrents and puddles that turned into lakes. Last Monday in the Mathare slum, the collapse of a retaining wall killed a mother and her son, plus a third person.
It is natural, as every year, to expect the sad count to increase day by day.
In the hinterland of Malindi, for example, apprehension is rising over the level of the Galana River, while further north it is the Tana River that is causing concern.
Meteorologists have given high unstable conditions and increasing rainfall over the weekend, until next Tuesday.