Maporomoko ya ardhi yaua wengi Uganda!

By Unknown - Jun 26, 2012

Shughuli za uokozi zinatarajiwa kuanza tena leo asubuhi mashariki mwa Uganda ambako vijiji vitatu vilifunikwa na udongo kufuatia maporomoka ya udongo yaliyokumba eneo la Bududa.

Shirika la msalaba mwekundu nchini Uganda limesema kuwa zaidi ya watu kumi na wanane wamefariki dunia katika maporomoko hayo.

Zaidi ya nyumba kumi na tano zimezikwa kufuatia mvua kubwa iliyonyesha katika eneo hilo.

Shirika hilo limesema maafisa wake wanaendelea kuwatibu waliojeruhiwa katika mkasa huo, katika eneo hilo lenye rutuba la Bududa, linalokuza kahawa na lililopo karibu na mbuga ya wanyama ya mlima Elgon.

How it happened!

Massive landslides induced by torrential rains destroyed three villages in the mountainous district of Bududa in eastern Uganda, killing scores of people but possibly hundreds, officials said on Monday. Disaster Preparedness Minister Stephen Mallinga said it was still too early to say how many had been killed in this afternoon's landslides, but officials from Bududa said the final death toll would likely be in the hundreds.

"We are sending a rescue team down there," Mallinga said. "It's very difficult to estimate how many have been killed, but two villages are affected, and maybe more."
Witnesses said the landslides were unexpected, happening several hours after a torrential overnight downpour that at first seemed to have done little damage.

The Uganda Red Cross said two villages had been destroyed and that at least 15 houses had been buried in the landslides. It may take time before the full death toll from such disasters is known, as often it requires rescuers working with hoes and shovels to dig through the mud and find bodies trapped underneath.

Landslides are a common occurrence in the hilly parts of eastern Uganda, and they have been especially lethal over the years in those villages where the land is denuded of vegetation cover. In 2010 massive landslides in Bududa killed about 100 people, destroying everything from the village market to a church.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who visited the scene, said at the time that the landslides were divine retribution for the people's failure to give to the land what they take from it. The villages are usually heavily populated, and often they live on land bare of trees.