The combined death toll from floods and landslides across East Africa has reached at least 114, as prolonged torrential rains continue to batter the region, destroying homes and displacing thousands of people.
In southern Ethiopia, local authorities confirmed that at least 64 people died in the Gamo Zone following days of intense rainfall that triggered devastating mudslides. Saturated slopes gave way, burying communities and destroying infrastructure. Dozens of individuals remain missing despite active search and rescue operations. The town of Arba Minch and surrounding areas suffered extensive damage, with landslides blocking critical roads and bridges, isolating regions and hampering relief efforts.
The crisis extends across the border into Kenya, where the Interior Ministry reported 50 fatalities. The floods have impacted 17 counties, including major areas such as Nairobi, Kisumu, and Narok. More than 12,300 homes have been destroyed or severely damaged, and nine people are still unaccounted for. Multi-agency response teams have been deployed to coordinate search, rescue, and aid distribution, as flash floods disrupt transportation networks, power supplies, and educational institutions.
Scientists attribute the increasing frequency and severity of such extreme weather events to human-driven climate change, which intensifies rainfall patterns over East Africa. This disaster follows a similar deadly landslide in Ethiopia’s Geze Gofa Zone last July, which killed over 229 people, highlighting the region’s acute vulnerability to climate-related hazards.
The ongoing rains are expected to continue, raising concerns about further landslides and flooding in already saturated areas. Humanitarian agencies are scaling up responses to provide emergency shelter, food, and medical assistance to displaced populations. The repeated nature of these catastrophes underscores the urgent need for enhanced early warning systems and climate adaptation strategies across the region to mitigate future loss of life and infrastructure damage.
