Five people dead, two missing in twin landslides in Baringo
What you need to know:
- The landslides were occasioned by heavy rains that hit the area.
- One of the families lost two members, a woman and a minor, while two others are still missing.
Five people have been confirmed dead, while a teenage boy is still missing in a twin landslide in Kapkombe and Kapchebogel in Baringo North following the heavy rains pounding the area. Among those that died are two adults and three minors.
Baringo County Commissioner Stephen Kutwa, who toured the affected areas, said there were five fatalities in the twin landslides in the two villages while one other teen boy is still missing following the Tuesday night incident.
“The landslide occurred on Tuesday night in two villages in Baringo North — Kapkombe and Kapchebogel — killing five people. Among the dead are three minors and two adults. One teenage boy aged16 years is still unaccounted for,” said Mr Kutwa.
He added: “The landslides were occasioned by heavy rains that hit the area. One of the families lost two members, a woman and a minor, while two others are still missing and we fear they were swept downstream or covered by the landslide. We mobilized a team from the Kenya Red Cross and the locals and we managed to retrieve three bodies in the morning.”
According to locals, the heavy rains that lasted for more than three hours started at around 9pm on Tuesday before they heard a loud bang some minutes to midnight, only to realize later that some houses and people had been swept by the landslide downstream.
Home flattened
Faith Jemutai, a local from Kapkombe village, said one woman was killed after her house was flattened and swept downstream by the landslide.
“We had retired to bed some minutes after 11pm and the heavy rains were still pounding. Some minutes later, we heard a loud bang. At first, we thought it was an earthquake. When the rain subsided, we came out of our houses to hear neighbours wailing that one of our villager’s houses had been swept away by a landslide. At the time, one occupant was inside,” said Ms Jemutai.
“It was so bad that it flattened two houses. It even exposed a grave in the homestead. The area is flat...you cannot even believe that there was a house there,” said the local.
Robert Kibet, another resident, said a similar calamity happened in the landslide-prone area in 1961.
“We have never witnessed such heavy rains before...our elders claim that something similar happened in 1961, which also swept away a number of houses,” he said.
