Saturday 14 May 2016

Woman confirmed dead following Kenyan landslide.

The body of an eighty six year old woman has been found eighteen days after her home was hit by a landlside in the village of Gakira in Murang'a County, Kenya, on Monday 25 April 2016. Tabitha Njeri had been missing since the incident, which swept away two homesteads as well as a stand of Eucalyptus trees, two cows and several thousand Tea bushes. Ms Njeri was last seen near a Cattle pen that was destoryed by the incident, prompting a search operation that lasted over two weeks and which involved members of the Kenya Red Cross Society and the Murang'a County Government

 The scene of the 25 April 2016 Gakira landslide. The Star.

The incident happened after several weeks of heavy rain in the area. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather events, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall. Murang'a typically recieves over 300 mm of rainfall in April, the county's wettest month, and falls within one of the area's two rainy seasons. This two rainy seasons per year pattern is typical in equatorial countries, with rainy seasons around the equinoxes and dry seasons around the solstices.

See also...

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http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/11/woman-killed-in-kenya-landslide.htmlWoman killed in Kenya landslide.                   A woman has been killed and several families have been displaced after a landslide swept through Mugomet Village in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya, on Wednesday 20 November 2013. She...
http://sciencythoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/three-children-killed-by-landslip-in.htmlThree children killed by landslip in Kenya. Three children, reportedly all girls, have been killed by a landslip in Magina Village, Kenya, to the north of Niarobi. The event took place around midnight between 26 and 27 April 2013 local time (around 9.00 pm on Friday 26 April, GMT) sweeping away a...
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