Kenya landslide death toll rises to 26

(Reuters) -The death toll from a landslide in western Kenya's Rift Valley has risen to 26, a government spokesperson said on Sunday, following heavy rains on Saturday.

Twenty-five people were still missing and 26 others had been rescued after devastating floods in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, government spokesperson Isaac Mwaura said in a statement. Most of the rescued people were receiving treatment.

The government has deployed military planes and disaster response specialists to conduct a search and rescue operation, Mwaura added.

Hundreds of people have been killed in recent years in landslides and flooding in Kenya, with scientists saying climate change is causing more intense and frequent extreme weather events.

In the worst incident last year, 61 people were killed in a mudslide and flash floods in central Kenya.

Landslides in the east of neighbouring Uganda have also killed at least 13 people in the last week, according to the Uganda Red Cross.

(Reporting by Nelson Banya; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Peter Graff)

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