Nairobi, May 9 -- As football enthusiasts watched Arsenal unleash a torrent of goals against Chelsea on the night of April 23, a cloudburst descended on Nairobi, wreaking havoc on the poorly drained roads, flooding homes and sweeping away dozens of residents who live by river banks.

Caught in the unforgiving deluge was a grandmother who had travelled from Homa Bay County to stay at her daughter 's house as she sought medical treatment in the capital.

The horror that Salome Anyango encountered that night as she fought to save her own life and those of her daughter, Jacinta Adhiambo, her grandchildren and a friendly neighbour she had just met left permanent physical and emotional scars.

Read: IN PICTURES: Mathare flash floods

So heavy w...