AFP PHOTO / ANDREW KASUKU

The number of people killed in floods in Kenya since the start of the rainy season in March has risen to 70, a government spokesperson said on Friday.

“The official tally of fellow Kenyans who regrettably have lost their lives due to the flooding situation now stands at 70 lives,” government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura said on X, after torrential rains killed more than a dozen people in the capital Nairobi this week.

Kenya and other countries in East Africa — a region highly vulnerable to climate change — have been pounded by heavier than usual rainfall, compounded by the El Nino weather pattern.

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern typically associated with increased heat worldwide, as well as drought in some parts of the world and heavy rains elsewhere.

Mwaura said that the government will issue a “comprehensive brief” following a meeting with the National Emergency Response Committee after the extreme weather caused chaos across Nairobi this week, blocking roads and engulfing homes in slum districts.

Kenyans have been warned to stay on alert, with the forecast for more heavy rains across the country in coming days.

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