Overnight heavy downpour drowns Thika town.(with photos).

Parts of Thika Town Constituency were on Tuesday morning cut off when freak flashfloods left much of the low-lying areas submerged under 1½ feet of water.

Much of the flash flooding was witnessed in the lower parts of Gatuanyaga, Landless Phase II, Kisii Estate and Kiganjo areas.

Other areas that reported flooding included Matharao slums, Ofafa Mafuriko, parts of Ngoingwa, Sections 9 and 2, Makongeni’s Phase 4 and 13 as well as along Kenyatta Highway on your way to the Central Business district.

The affected residents watched helplessly as the water come up to the lip of his doorstep and stacked many of his belongings on top of their beds in anticipation of more water. Fortunately, there has been no reports of any deaths as a result of the floods.

(Related story: Weatherman warns of more rains this week.)

In Ngoingwa area, people living near the flyover and Njomoko area were the worst affected with flash water creating a large pool of water  that overflew into some of these houses and towards the highway.

Some people could be seen knocking down fences to help the water drain away with those at the lower areas worst affected.

Several businesses along Kenyatta Highway have been affected as the floodwaters surged and submerged their basement floors and parts of the ground floors. Some of those affected include Stanbic Bank, Fina Bank, Prime Bank, Equity Bank, I & M Bank and National Bank.

A quick observation in the area revealed that the contractor who did Kenyatta Highway failed to properly drain the water, a matter that had resulted in much of the floodwaters from the upper areas of Ngoingwa and Section 9 stagnating at the edge of this road without anywhere to go.

National oil Petrol station at the junction of General Kago and Garissa roads was completely submerged in water. There were reports also of the Makongeni Shell Petrol Station being flooded.

Several sections of Garissa road were overflowing with water after the floods overwhelmed the drains especially near the railway crossing near the Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers (KVM).  

Following the floods, there was a major traffic snarl-up in the morning hours stretching from Ananas Mall in Makongeni all the way to the Gatitu junction.

Parts of Kiganjo, Makongeni, Kisii Estate and Landless were practically impassable because of the excess surface water runoff.

Commuters heading to work had to wade through the murky waters, with some having to cancel their plans after a thorough ‘beating’ by the rains. The rains got on the nerves of pedestrians who were not only trying to deal with the pools of water but also avoiding being drenched by water splashed from moving vehicles.

This heavy downpour exposed the ill-preparedness of the County Government of Kiambu in dealing with the flash floods owing to blocked drainage leading to flooding in major parts of the town.

Residents expressed their frustrations at the county administration for what they termed as inadequate planning for the rains saying if lives were lost, ‘it was on them’. They took to social media where they posted photos and videos of the heavy down pour and flooding, laying out bare the perennial problem that has continued to rock the ‘Birmingham of Kenya’.

This is despite the Kenya Meteorological Department occasionally warning Kenyans to brace for heavy downpours that is currently pounding various parts of the country.