At least 13 people were killed in western Kenya's Rift Valley in a landslide early on Saturday morning following heavy rains, the police said.

Nineteen people have been rescued and an unknown number are still missing, Elgeyo-Marakwet County police commander Peter Mulinge told Reuters.

Kenya's interior minister, Kipchumba Murkomen, said in a statement that military and police helicopters had been deployed to assist with the rescue efforts.

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 this week, according to the Uganda Red Cross.