Kenya floods: Nairobi homes demolished as Cyclone Hidaya approaches - BBC News

Residents of a slum say the destruction of their homes caught them by surprise and they have nowhere to stay.

20 hours agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsEast Africa floodsImage source, Peter Njoroge/BBCBy Anita Nkonge & Alfred LasteckBBC News, Nairobi and Dar es SalaamTwisted scraps of metal, large splinters of wood and misplaced mattresses are all that remains of what were once people's homes in Mukuru Wa Reuben slum in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

Across the wider Nairobi County, hundreds of people have also seen their homes knocked down.

The demolitions follow a government order for anyone living near rivers to leave their homes and move to higher ground in the wake of heavy rains and flooding, which have ravaged East Africa over numerous weeks.

Slums make up the majority of neighbourhoods built on marginal land along river valleys.

The government has said the demolitions were necessary in order to prevent further deaths. It also argued that living within 40m of the banks of a river is illegal.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-68953965

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