Boats and life jackets sell out as rains pound Nairobi

waweru kiarie

March 13, 2018 9:39 AM

Life jackets too have been flying off the shelves at a previously unprecedented speed.

There has been a sharp rise in the price of inflatable boats in Nairobi after the Meteorological department predicted heavy downpour and flash floods.

Life jackets too have been flying off the shelves at a previously unprecedented speed. In several cases, lives have been lost and property worth millions destroyed.

Nairobi becomes one large waterway when it pours thanks largely to the blocked drainage lines and intrusion into wetlands which forces water to seek alternative routes.

Traffic in the City and suburbs comes to a complete standstill and commuters usually become marooned for hours on end.

A quick spot-check in downtown Nairobi has shown that suave businessman have stocked up on life jackets and inflatable boats.

''Business is good. Most of our clients are people who live in estates notorious for flooding and especially those who have had their cars swept away by water,’’ narrated Kimani, a businessman.

Major roads in the city are usually rendered impassable due to the floods. They include University Way, Uhuru Highway, Ojijo Road, Museum Hill Road and Thika Superhighway.

Flooding is also expected in the low lying area of the county as follows:

The Kenya Meteorological Department has issued a heavy rain advisory expected to affect: Maziwa-Zimmerman on Kamiti Road, River Bank area on the Baba Dogo-Outer Ring Road, Garden Estate, Thome, Roysambu, Kahawa West, Ojijo Road, Museum Hill overpass and Underpass, Nyayo Estate Embakasi, Eastleigh Pangani area along Thika Rd Highway.

The new acquisitions by savvy Nairobi residents are likely to come In handy.

waweru kiarie