A boy herds goats in front of a Tullow Oil drilling rig in Bulisa, in the Bunyora region of Uganda
A boy herds goats in front of a Tullow Oil drilling rig in Bulisa, in the Bunyora region of Uganda Reuters

A landslide has struck three villages and killed at least 18 people in Budada, an eastern district of Uganda.

The villages were home to more than 300 people, according to the BBC. At least 72 residents survived the landslide, and nine have sustained injuries that were treated at local hospitals. The Ugandan Red Cross continues to search for bodies, and expects the death toll to rise considerably in coming days.

The landslide occurred following heavy rains. Mud streamed down from the mountainous ridges to the east, which border Kenya. Deforestation of the region has made landslides more common in eastern Uganda; a similar landslide killed 25 people in August of last year, and another killed 350 in March 2010.

Uganda Kenya Kenya Uganda