The eastern region of the country experienced fatal flash floods on Sunday.
The eastern region of Uganda experienced fatal flash floods on Sunday that destroyed agriculture, homes, and bridges. Teams of search and rescue personnel kept searching the area for those in need. The banks of the Nabuyonga and Namatala rivers reportedly burst on Sunday, worsening the amount of destruction.
Relief Operations-
According to government officials, the Elgon subregion has seen at least 24 fatalities as of Wednesday. And the disaster management team has relocated more than 5,600 people. This happened as a result of the devastating downpour that inundated eastern Uganda last weekend. There is a need for numerous medical teams on the ground. More and more people are getting hurt while dead bodies are being found.
After 8 p.m. local time on Saturday, heavy rain started to fall across eastern Uganda. It persisted until 7 a.m. on Sunday. The inundation has severely affected numerous settlements, including Namabasa, Busajabwankuba, Nkoma, and the Mbale industrial park.
After a weekend of intense rainfall, two rivers in the city of Mbale burst their banks, flooding houses, businesses, and highways while uprooting water pipes. The flood has damaged over 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of crops. About 400,000 people are without access to clean water. Rainfall has impeded rescue attempts, and some locations are currently unreachable.
Uganda National Meteorological Authority expects more rain in east Uganda over the coming month, Authorities have urged residents of the Mbale area to leave, and they are relocating those from the Mount Elgon area. Out of a target of 100,000 persons, the team has moved just roughly 2,500 so far.
President of Uganda-
Yoweri Museveni, the president of Uganda, dispatched Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to the affected areas on Sunday to survey the damage and decide what urgent action was required. The amount of property damage is anticipated to be in the billions of Ugandan shillings, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office (hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars).
Even though most of the nation is suffering from chronic drought, the Elgon region of eastern Uganda is vulnerable to flash flooding and landslides during times of intense rain. Increased precipitation can occur on the windward side of the mountain in Uganda. It is an extinct shield volcano, situated at the foot of Mount Elgon, within the borders of western Kenya.
A World Bank report predicts that at least 86 million Africans will migrate to their own countries by 2050 as a result of climate change.
