26 Dead as Landslides Devastate Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya

At least 26 people were killed and dozens more injured on October 31, 2025, when powerful landslides tore through the villages of Moror and Chesongoch in Marakwet East sub-county, Elgeyo Marakwet County. The disaster, unleashed by relentless heavy rainfall, left a further 26 people nursing injuries, 25 others missing, and more than 151 households displaced as rescue teams scrambled to reach survivors across the remote highland terrain.

The landslides struck without warning, obliterating homes and burying residents in the two affected villages within minutes. Emergency responders faced severe challenges reaching the area due to widespread damage to roads and bridges, slowing search and rescue operations at a critical window. Local authorities confirmed that destruction extended far beyond human casualties, with vital infrastructure including access routes, water systems, and community facilities reduced to rubble. Hundreds of survivors were left without shelter, food, or clean water as night fell on one of the county's deadliest days in recent memory.

The tragedy in Elgeyo Marakwet reflects a worsening pattern of weather-related disasters unfolding across Kenya. The country has been battered by above-average rainfall linked to the Indian Ocean Dipole and shifting climate patterns that scientists say are intensifying in both frequency and severity. Kenya's highland and Rift Valley regions are particularly exposed, where steep topography and loosened, saturated soils turn heavy downpours into catastrophic events with little warning. Communities living on unstable slopes remain among the most vulnerable populations in the country.

The scale of the crisis drew a swift international humanitarian response. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched an emergency appeal worth CHF 15 million — roughly Ksh 2.3 billion — to assist an estimated 300,000 people affected by floods and landslides across Kenya. The Kenya Red Cross Society mobilized volunteers and relief supplies to reach displaced families with emergency shelter, clean water, food, and essential medical care, while national government officials pledged support for affected households through the National Disaster Management Unit.

The Elgeyo Marakwet disaster has renewed urgent calls for Kenya to strengthen early warning systems and invest in disaster preparedness infrastructure in high-risk counties before the next rainy season intensifies. Community leaders and civil society organizations are urging authorities to accelerate the resettlement of families living on dangerous slopes and to embed disaster risk reduction into county development plans. With climate projections pointing to continued extreme weather across East Africa in coming years, Kenya faces mounting pressure to treat natural disaster preparedness not as an emergency afterthought, but as a core pillar of national resilience.