Landslides In Kenya Killed Dozens Of People

JAKARTA - A total of 13 people died in the Rift Valley, Kenya, due to landslides on Saturday morning after heavy rains.

Elgeyo-Marakwet District police commander Peter Mulinge told Reuters 19 people were rescued. But a number of people whose details were not yet known were missing.

Kenya's Interior Minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, said military helicopters and police had been deployed to assist rescue efforts.

Hundreds of people have died in recent years due to landslides and floods in Kenya. Scientists say climate change causes extreme weather events that are more intense and frequent.

In last year's worst incident, 61 people died from landslides and flash floods in central Kenya.

Landslides in the eastern region of neighboring Uganda have also killed at least 13 people this week, according to the Ugandan Red Cross.