In brief
Over 40 individuals have been reported dead due to multiple landslides in the mountainous border region of Uganda and Kenya. The disasters have left families mourning the loss of loved ones and many others still missing. Search and rescue operations are underway, with local officials urging residents to evacuate from high-risk areas as the threat of additional landslides looms due to continuous rain.
More than 40 people are now known to have died after multiple landslides struck Kenya and Uganda's mountainous border region last week.
I lost a grandmother, a maternal aunt, an uncle, two sisters, a family friend and a cousin. They were staying together in Kaptul village, Felix Kemboi shared, his voice thick with grief. The 30-year-old recounts the unimaginable pain, struggling to articulate his sorrow.
On both sides of the border, many persons remain unaccounted for as search and rescue teams are mobilized. Amid continuous heavy rainfall, the risk of new landslides is a pressing concern.
Kenyan Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen warned about the heightened danger of landslides in the Kerio Valley region, encouraging locals to remain vigilant about earth movements. Additionally, he stated that authorities are relocating at-risk residents to safer locations.
A tragic toll has fallen upon children as well; fourteen schoolchildren were among those lost when two mudslides ravaged the Great Rift Valley.
In Eastern Uganda, survivors have described harrowing experiences. Helda Narunga Masai recounted how she lost family members, saying, We were sleeping at night, we [heard] a huge sound. The neighbours came running: 'You wake up! The mountain is coming.' My niece and brother died. Her home in Kween village was obliterated in the landslide.
The Uganda Red Cross Society reported at least 18 fatalities within Uganda, with ongoing efforts to locate 20 individuals still missing across several districts. Local leaders expressed concern about the rudimentary tools used in recovery operations, amplifying the need for more substantial aid and resources.
The Ugandan government is offering financial support to bereaved families and survivors, but compensation has not yet been announced by Kenyan authorities. Experts are cautioning against construction in known risk areas due to the frequent occurrence of landslides, highlighting a past tragedy in Bududa, Uganda, where a 2010 disaster resulted in approximately 300 deaths.
