Three Still Missing After Disruptive Landslide in Kimende

Rescue crews are still searching frantically for three missing people after a small but disruptive landslide triggered by relentless heavy rainfall experienced in many parts of the country ripped down a village yesterday in the township of Kimende, south of the Aberdare Ranges in Kiambu County.

Precisely, the landslides occurred at Matathia, Kimende Escarpments of Lari Constituency, in the evening when debris flows composed of mud and rocks smashed into homes, burying four with thick piles of dark earth as it also cut through a part of a nearby road.

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“There were four people altogether, and three of them were slightly ahead of the other one who was behind. Unfortunately, the soil covered them all,” Joseph Gitau, a resident of Kimende, told Reuters. He said his cousin was among the victims.

At the time of reporting, the Kenya Red Cross, who are coordinating the relief efforts in the area together with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and officials from the Kiambu County Government, had already declared the area a danger zone.

Kiambu County Governor Kimani Wamatangi had also visited the slide area, and he asked the communities living around there to seek higher grounds and stay away from the scene until the rescue teams in action find the missing people and the county, a solution to prevent such happenings in future.

“Together with the County Disaster Response Team, we have visited the area to assess the situation and assist the affected residents as the operation to find the missing continues. We are consulting with the relevant national government road authorities to see if the road design can be improved to avoid such problems in the future,” the Governor said.

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