Where Kampala floods, where the year stands in the two rainy seasons, and whether heavy rain is on the way — with the radio and city channels that carry the real warnings.
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Kampala floods in the same low places every rainy season. This page shows where, where the year stands in the two wet seasons, and whether heavy rain is on the way — so you can plan around the low roads before they go under.
Between the rains — the drier months
Some rain in the forecast, nothing heavy.
The wettest of the next three days looks like Saturday 11 July, with about 4 mm expected.
The same low places flood when the heavy rain returns. The next wet season is the short rains.
The real warnings come by radio
These are weather-model estimates of rainfall, not measurements, and never a flood forecast. Heavy rain on the hills is a reason to be watchful; calm skies are never a promise.
After a flood, treat the water as unsafe
The same low places go under in heavy rain, every wet season. If you live, work or travel through one of these, plan around the low roads before the rain sets in.
The best-known flood spot in the city. Where Bombo Road dips at Bwaise, runoff pours off the hills and collects fast; the low lanes flood and stay under for hours after heavy rain.
The market and the low ground beside the Lubigi wetland flood when the rains are heavy, and the channel through the area backs up — trade and the low roads stop until the water drains.
Much of low-lying Kawempe goes under in heavy rain. In a local survey almost every household named flooding as their main weather worry; movement stops and shallow wells get contaminated.
Low ground just south of the city centre, along the Nakivubo channel. When the channel is blocked or overwhelmed, the workshops and roads here are among the first to flood.
Low wards below the hills that flood in the heavier rains — water runs down off the high ground and stands in the valley bottoms.
Kampala is built on hills with marshy valleys between them. Rain runs off the paved hilltops and collects in the valleys, where drainage is worst and homes are densest. The Nakivubo channel is the city's main drain — when it is blocked with silt or rubbish, or simply overwhelmed, the low areas flood. Clearing rubbish from the drains and channels before the rains is the single thing that helps most.
“In a Kawempe flood survey, 96% of residents named flooding as their main climate risk, and almost all reported the rains getting heavier over the past five years.”
Emergencies first, then the bodies that respond to flooding and water safety.
KCCA
Kampala Capital City Authority — drainage, roads and city emergencies · The city authority that clears the channels and responds to flooding.
NWSC — Kampala Water
Water supply and safe-water advice after flooding · Toll-free, 24 hours.
Rain forecast read 10 July at 0:03. Rainfall figures are model estimates from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).