Thousands of people were displaced and property was extensively damaged after a five-hour downpour this week, acording to police spokesman Peter Kimanthi.

The city is crossed by several streams which are normally sluggish, but which become torrents when there is heavy rain. The worst hit areas were the city's slums and shantytowns built in valleys next to the streams.

Most of the dead reportedly drowned while trying to cross the swollen rivers or when the vehicles they were in were swept away by water.

Kenyan television said five bodies were recovered from one car in the city's industrial area.

Decaying infrastructure

The storm cut power at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, disrupting incoming and outgoing flights and forcing rerouting to neighboring countries.

Kenya's independent Daily Nation newspaper on Friday blamed government and Nairobi city officials for the havoc caused by the rains, saying neglect of the city's infrastructure was turning Nairobi into "one huge, decaying slum."

Meteorologists attribute the abnormally heavy rains in Kenya in recent months to the El Nino weather phenomenon.