Nairobi is a city of rivers, streams and almost six million people.
For weeks, Kenya's bustling capital has braced for potentially catastrophic floods, as forecasters predict the strongest El Niño event on record this winter. Globally, this year's Super El Niño will likely peak in November or December and continue into early 2027. But Nairobi isn't just watching and waiting.
On a sunny October day near the city center, a team of workers in reflective vests shovels dirt and clears debris from the bank of a river. It's unseasonably hot — and hot days usually suggest there's an unusually strong rainy season ahead.
"The best thing to do is to be prepared," says Alex Oyando, a 30-year-old worker. "These drainage troughs are full of different things. When we remove the dirt, the water can flow — and it prevents flooding."
Nairobi frequently experiences catastrophic flash floods. More than 100 people died during rain-induced flash floods last March, and residents have pressured Kenya's government to do more to prevent these disasters in the future.
Reporting for El Niño duty
As part of the preparations, Nairobi's county government has mobilized the "Green Army," a youth-employment program of more than 4,000 people. While generally assigned to trash pickups and city greening projects, the workers have been out in full force to prepare for El
Niño, clearing drainages and dismantling illegal structures like food stalls. These buildings are generally constructed by the community without government permits and are at an increased risk of collapsing during natural disasters.
Earlier this month, Oyando and his colleagues widened a drainage ditch that runs along a busy road lined with stalls selling clothing. Piles of fabric, plastic bottles and other litter often build up in the stream, triggering flash floods.
While the pay isn't as much as he could make elsewhere, Oyando admits, the shifts are manageable and not too grueling.
"It's something that gives me an opportunity to make a living," he says.
Many of Oyando's colleagues live or grew up in Nairobi's low-income neighborhoods, which are the hardest hit by flash floods. Aging drainage infrastructure and clogged waterways can cause stormwater to build up. When it rains, he says, it's not unusual for his street to fill with water and flood his home.
"The infrastructure we've had in place for decades was tailored for a population of not more than 2 million people," says Bramwell Simiyu, the chief officer of disaster management for Nairobi's county government. "We're now talking about a daytime population of close to 7 million."
A $385 million remedy
Kenya's federal government has put in place a $385 million plan to widen Nairobi's waterways, build affordable housing and improve the city's trash pickup and sewer system by the end of 2027. In addition, the program supports a national youth employment program called Climate WorX, which is working with the Green Army on El Niño preparations.
Now, Simiyu says, the county is preparing supplies and evacuation centers for the rainy season.
"We're also preparing for a worst-case scenario, where up to about 20,000 households may be affected — mostly in the low -income settlements," Simiyu said.
Controversial demolitions
In these settlements, the demolition of illegally built structures, such as food hawker stalls, has caused an outcry. Tobias Sifuna, a supervisor for Green Army teams in the Kamukunji area of Nairobi, says it's a necessary step.
"These are small kiosks that are built illegally, by the community — without the authorization from the county government," Sifuna said.
But nearby communities rely on them, for income and for daily shopping.
Wycliffe Ochieng, a 32-year-old fruit vendor, says many workers in central Nairobi now have nowhere to buy an affordable hot lunch during the day.
"Now, we have to sleep without food because we can't afford it," Ochieng says.
When the county government destroys the shops, it's the community that feels the loss — whether or not the floods eventually come. But it's these neighborhoods that were hit the hardest by the floods during the last rainy season. Ochieng himself had to sleep outdoors, because he could not reach his home in the floodwaters.
"This place, it's like an ocean when it's raining," Ochieng says. "When the flood came, all the food stalls were swept away."
His friend, a woman who owned a food stall, died as she tried to escape. He lost his own stand, a small grocery, as well. He struggled to rebuild his business in a new neighborhood, where customers no longer knew him by reputation.
"After the flood I really suffered. It was hard to put food on the table," Ochieng says.
He says he hopes the county can do more to prevent flooding and safeguard livelihoods. There are only so many times he can rebuild his life from scratch.
"We are all scared. I fear if El Niño comes, I won't come back again."
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