Storms and flash floods turned roads into gushing rivers and inundated homes with waist-deep murky water across the Kenyan capital Nairobi, killing at least 10 people.
The East African region has been lashed by relentless downpours in recent weeks as El Nino weather worsens seasonal rainfall.
Across Nairobi, vehicles were stuck in floodwaters and people waded through floodwaters in slum areas to get to safety.
An estimated 60,000 people, mostly women and children, were “severely affected” by the floods, according to the Nairobi County Governor's Office.
The Kenya Meteorological Department warned that “heavy to very heavy” rainfall was forecast in various parts of the country until May.
In one incident on Wednesday, police used tear gas to disperse angry residents who blocked a major highway with long lines of cars calling for government intervention over the flooding.
Kenya Railways said it had temporarily suspended commuter train services, while the Roads Authority said four roads in the capital were partially closed.
Houses were engulfed in Nairobi's sprawling Mathare slum, where residents took to rooftops to save their lives and property.
The Red Cross said the Athi River, Kenya's second longest, which flows south of Nairobi into the Indian Ocean, had burst its banks, blocking roads and leaving residents stranded.
In central Nairobi, home to many government offices and Parliament, a main thoroughfare was blocked by fallen trees.
Elsewhere in the region, nearly 100,000 people have been displaced in Burundi, while at least 58 people have died and several thousand have been made homeless in Tanzania.
El Nino often has devastating effects in East Africa, a region already hit by repeated climate shocks.