The Uganda Red Cross confirmed 15 deaths on
Monday following a heavy downpour that triggered several landslides in Bugisu
sub-region, Eastern Uganda.
Two villages, Namaga and Bunakasala,
in the Bumwalukani Sub County, Bududa district have been submerged in water.
In an afternoon statement to our
Ugandan sister publication Daily
Monitor, Uganda Red Cross said its Secretary General Michael
Richard Nataka had also joined an emergency ground team in conducting rapid
vulnerability capacity assessment.
“The Uganda Red Cross Society has sent
a team of volunteers to assess the situation and establish the number of people
affected although local authorities have told Red Cross that there could be
about 80 people in each of the villages,” URCS head of communications Catherine
Ntabadde said on Monday.
Efforts to reach officials of Uganda's
Disaster Preparedness Ministry were futile as they were reportedly locked in an
emergency meeting all afternoon following reports of the 3.12 p.m. landslides.
This is the third time landslides are
affecting Eastern Uganda.
In August 2011, the Uganda Red Cross
declared Bududa a disaster area after landslides injured eight people and left
420 others homeless.
Among the most affected area was
Simuyu village in Bulucheke Sub County.
In March 2010, at least 100 people
were killed and over 400 people displaced after a six hour downpour triggered
off landslides in several villages on the slopes of Mount Elgon.
The affected villages included Nameti,
Kubewo, and Nankobe. An estimated 90 homes were destroyed in Nameti village
alone. The affected villages were buried by fast moving mud, with houses,
markets, and a church destroyed. Roads were also blocked.
In Butaleja, over 6,000 homes from the
sub-counties of Kachonga, Masimasa, Kimuntu and Nawangofu were affected.
Two primary schools in Nabehere and
Lubembe had to be closed. The Mbale-Busolwa road was also closed due to
flooding.
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