Kenyans brace for heavy El Niño rains as flood survivors recall their losses

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — For decades, Mary Okello has lived on the banks of a river in Kenya that floods every rainy season. But forecasts of heavier-than-usual rainfall across East Africa this autumn have sent chills down her spine, reminding her of how she lost all her belongings in 2024.Okello was working at her hair salon when heavy rains began, forcing her to rush home and evacuate her five children. They watched as their belongings were washed away by water that eventually submerged all the houses in the area.Since then, she says, she has had to move to higher ground in Mathare, an area of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where many residents live in houses built from corrugated iron sheets along the Mathare River, a major tributary of the Nairobi River.Kenya's Meteorological Service Authority has warned that a super El Niño is expected to bring heavier rain from October to December, with November projected to be the peak of the season. The Kenya National Disaster Operations Centre urge