epa08023758 Local residents gather around the road that was destroyed by heavy rain near Kapenguria, West Pokot County in northwestern Kenya, 23 November 2019 (issued 25 November 2019). The death toll from the landslide that hit Nyarkulian and Parua villages in West Pokot on the night of 22 November rose to 53, according to the local media. The Kenya Meteorological Department is warning of heavy rains in several parts of the country including the capital Nairobi. EPA/STR Twenty-five people were still missing and 26 others had been rescued after devastating floods in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura said in a statement. Most of the rescued people were receiving treatment.
The government has deployed military planes and disaster response specialists to conduct a search and rescue operation, Mwaura added.
Hundreds of people have been killed in recent years in landslides and flooding in Kenya, with scientists saying climate change is causing more intense and frequent extreme weather events.
In the worst incident last year, 61 people were killed in a mudslide and flash floods in central Kenya.
Landslides in the east of neighbouring Uganda have also killed at least 13 people in the last week, according to the Uganda Red Cross.
(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Peter Graff