When flash floods and landslides struck western Kenya, Kenya Defence Forces personnel were part of a multiagency team conducting search and rescue operations. The November 2025 operation in Chesongoch focused on rescuing survivors, recovering the bodies of victims and offering emergency
medical assistance.
Rain on November 1 left the region inaccessible by road. Mudslides destroyed an estimated 1,000 homes and killed more than 30 people. First responders included the Kenya Air Force’s Rapid Response Unit teams, the Kenya Red Cross, Eldoret Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital staff, the National Police Service, and local volunteers.
During the first two days of the operation, officials airlifted 29 injured people for treatment and recovered 22 bodies.
“This tragedy really reminds us that we must be careful during this rainy season, especially along the valley all the way from Samburu to West Pokot,” said Kipchumba Murkomen, Cabinet secretary for the Interior. “I want to request our people to be on the lookout; we want to request them to go to higher ground and avoid areas that are prone to landslides.”
Chesongoch has been hit by landslides in the past due to its hilly topography. Dozens of people died in landslides in 2010 and 2012, Al Jazeera reported. Floods swept away a shopping center in 2020.
The government announced plans to help relocate people away from flood zones and build homes in areas that are “geologically stable.”
“I want to ask people to continue pulling together and support each other in solidarity even as we reach out to the bereaved and the ones who are still searching for their loved ones,” Murkomen said.