Nairobi, Kenya
AP
—
At least 21 people have been killed and 30 are missing after a landslide struck the Rift Valley region of western Kenya on Saturday. Heavy rains have battered the region for several days as the country’s short rainy season continues.
More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed by a landslide in the hills of Chesongochi, Elgeyo-Marakwet District, in western Kenya.
Several roads were cut off and the government airlifted 30 seriously injured survivors to a hospital in Eldoret city.
Local resident Stephen Kitney told Citizen Television that he and his children ran out of the house and ran in different directions after hearing the deafening noise.
Rescue efforts continued into Saturday despite heavy rain as disaster authorities searched for missing people among the rubble.
The hilly area of Chaesongochchi is prone to landslides, which killed dozens of people in separate incidents in 2010 and 2012. In 2020, a shopping center was washed away by severe flooding.
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said the government was working to identify alternative housing areas for those affected.
