This archive report was first published on 23 November 2019.
Published on November 23, 2019, at least 29 people lost their lives in Kenya when their homes were swept away in landslides during overnight rainstorms.
The devastating landslides occurred in the Pokot region, approximately 220 miles north-west of Nairobi, the capital city.
According to Interior Minister Fred Matiang'i, 12 people from Tapach and Parua in Pokot South, and 17 from Tamkal in Pokot Central lost their lives. He expressed his sympathies to the families and friends of those affected.
Rescue efforts were delayed due to cut roads and closed bridges, as streams turned into raging torrents. Army and police helicopters were deployed to assist in the rescue operations.
The Kenya Red Cross reported massive landslides in various areas of West Pokot county following heavy downpour. Their emergency response teams were deployed to help with the rescue efforts.
West Pokot county commissioner Apollo Okello confirmed that two children were pulled out alive from the smashed wreckage of their mud-covered homes and were rushed to hospital.
Rescue efforts to dig out bodies continued, with the challenge being the heavy rains. Okello stated that they were trying their best to overcome the situation.
The landslides come amid weeks of destructive rains and flooding across East Africa, displacing tens of thousands in Somalia, submerging whole towns in South Sudan, and killing dozens in flash floods and landslides in Ethiopia and Tanzania.
Close to a million people in South Sudan are affected, with growing fears of disease and starvation. Floods frequently hit East Africa, but scientists say they have been exacerbated by a powerful climate phenomenon in the Indian Ocean stronger than any seen in years.
