landslides

Aerial footage from Elgeyo-Marakwet County shows massive mudslides and flash flooding stretching over vast distances.

Heavy rains have triggered landslides in Kenya’s western Rift Valley region, killing at least 21 people and destroying more than 1,000 homes, according to officials.

Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for the Interior Kipchumba Murkomen, in a statement on X on Saturday, said at least 25 people with “serious injuries” have been airlifted from Elgeyo-Marakwet County to the city of Eldoret for medical attention, while at least 30 remain missing.

He said that rescue efforts would resume on Sunday, with help from the military and the police.

“Preparation to supply more food and non-food relief items to the victims is underway. Military and police choppers are on standby to transport the items,” he added.

The landslide occurred overnight in Elgeyo-Marakwet County’s hilly area of Chesongoch in western Kenya, which has been battered by heavy rains amid the country’s ongoing short rainy season.

Local Stephen Kittony told the Citizen Television station that he heard a deafening sound and, together with his children, rushed out of his house and ran in different directions.

The Kenyan Red Cross shared aerial images from the region that showed massive mudslides and flash flooding stretching over vast distances.

It said it was coordinating rescue efforts with the government, including air evacuations for the injured.

“Access to some of the affected areas remains extremely difficult due to flooding and blocked routes,” it said in a statement on X.

Aerial views show the extent of destruction in Chesongoch after heavy overnight rains triggered a landslide and flash floods.

Kenya Red Cross teams, working with the National and County Governments, are coordinating rescue and relief efforts, including air evacuations for the… pic.twitter.com/SrVmFYF5fr

— Kenya Red Cross (@KenyaRedCross) November 1, 2025

The hilly area of Chesongoch is prone to landslides, which left dozens of people dead in separate incidents in 2010 and 2012. A shopping centre was washed away in 2020 by raging floods.

Heavy rains continue to disrupt rescue operations in the Himalayan nation as authorities struggle to respond to the crisis.

Landslides and flash floods, triggered by heavy rains, have killed at least 47 people, blocked roads and washed away bridges in Nepal.

Thirty-five people were killed in separate landslides in the Ilam district in the east bordering India, Kalidas Dhauboji, a spokesperson for the Armed Police Force, said on Sunday.

Nine people were missing after being washed away by floods since Friday and three others were killed in lightning strikes elsewhere in Nepal, he added, as relentless downpours pummelled eastern and central regions of the Himalayan nation.

“Rescue efforts for the missing persons are going on,” said Shanti Mahat, a National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority spokesperson in Nepal.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has declared Monday and Tuesday as public holidays nationwide, exempting emergency services and disaster response teams, as the government battles the crisis.

Government spokesperson Rameshwar Dangal cited forecasts of heavy rains as justification for the unusual measure.

Meteorological authorities have also placed more than a dozen districts on red alert, with department chief Kamal Ram Joshi warning the residents near waterways to evacuate immediately, The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported.

The alert covers major population centres, including parts of the capital, Kathmandu, with Bagmati, Gandaki, Lumbini and Madhesh provinces expected to bear the brunt of continued downpours through Monday morning.

Transport infrastructure has suffered extensive damage, with landslides cutting all major routes into Kathmandu.

The Araniko Highway connecting Kathmandu to China’s border is blocked after road collapses at multiple points, while the BP Highway linking the eastern regions is buried under debris.

Aviation authorities suspended domestic flights on Saturday due to poor visibility, though international operations continued with some disruptions.

“Domestic flights are largely disrupted, but international flights are operating normally,” said Rinji Sherpa, a spokesperson for Kathmandu airport.

The crisis has been compounded by its timing, striking as hundreds of thousands of people return from their homes following the Dashain celebrations, Nepal’s most important religious festival. Thursday was the main day of the two-week festival when people travel to their native villages to visit their families.

Of particular concern is the Koshi River in southeastern Nepal, where water levels have surged to more than twice their normal volume.

Local official Dharmendra Kumar Mishra confirmed that all 56 sluice gates at the Koshi Barrage have been opened – compared with the usual 10 to 12 – while authorities consider restricting heavy vehicles from crossing its bridge.

The river regularly causes devastating flooding in India’s Bihar state during the monsoons.

In the eastern Indian hill region of Darjeeling in West Bengal state, at least seven people were killed due to landslides following heavy rainfall, according to local media reports.

“Seven dead bodies have already been recovered from the debris. We have information about two more people. Work is being done to recover their bodies too,” Abhishek Roy, a Darjeeling district police official said on Sunday, the Reuters news agency reported.

Hundreds of people die every year in landslides and flash floods that are common in mostly mountainous Nepal during the monsoon season, which normally starts in mid-June and continues through mid-September.

Drone footage showed workers in India’s Uttarakhand state building a makeshift bridge across a gorge to reestablish ground access to communities cut off by deadly flash flooding and landslides earlier this week. Rescuers have been using helicopters to evacuate those trapped in the Himalayan region.

Among the missing are at least eight soldiers from a nearby army base.

Rescue workers are battling heavy rain and blocked roads after at least four people were killed and dozens reported missing after flash floods and landslides swept through parts of India’s northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.

The flood struck Dharali, a village in Uttarkashi district and a popular stop on the way to the Hindu pilgrimage town of Gangotri, after a sudden surge of muddy water mixed with debris engulfed the valley on Tuesday.

The flooding was triggered by intense monsoon rains, which continued to lash the region into Wednesday, complicating rescue efforts.

Al Jazeera understands that among the missing are at least eight soldiers from a nearby army base, while more than 190 people have been rescued.

Telephone lines remain damaged, and communication with the affected area is limited. Roads leading to the village have either collapsed or been blocked by large boulders, according to local official Prashant Arya.

“A large part of the village is engulfed in mud,” he told the news agency Reuters. “Some areas are covered up to 15 metres deep – enough to bury entire buildings.”

The Indian army said it is leading efforts to find approximately 50 people still unaccounted for. Mohsen Shahedi of the National Disaster Response Force said “the search for the missing is continuing”.

The army’s central command confirmed that “additional military columns” have been deployed, along with tracker dogs, drones and heavy earthmoving equipment. Military helicopters are delivering supplies, including medical aid, and evacuating those stranded.

Mobile and electricity towers were swept away by the floodwaters, forcing authorities to issue satellite phones to rescue teams.

Television footage showed torrents of dark, debris-filled water crashing through Dharali, sweeping away buildings and roads as residents fled for their lives. A video shared by the office of Uttarakhand’s chief minister showed parts of the village buried under mud.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami confirmed that about 130 people had been rescued by Tuesday night, and that helicopters were ready to deliver relief supplies to remote areas cut off by the flooding.

“People didn’t understand what was happening. The floodwaters hit them in 15 seconds,” Suman Semwal told The Indian Express, recounting how her father, watching from a neighbouring village upstream, saw the flood hit with a “thud” and “unimaginable magnitude”.

The Indian Meteorological Department said that water levels in all major rivers in Uttarakhand had risen above the danger mark. “Residents have been relocated to higher ground due to rising water levels caused by the incessant rains,” the Indian Army said in a statement.

Hydrologist Manish Shrestha said 270mm of rainfall recorded in 24 hours qualifies as an “extreme event”, particularly dangerous in mountainous regions where such rainfall has a “more concentrated” impact.

Shrestha, from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Nepal, added that such intense rainfall events are becoming more frequent and could be linked to the climate crisis.