Two dead, 32 displaced as mudslide sweeps through Sironko

Residents say unusual torrential rains pounded the area for about three hours, destroying seven houses, gardens and animals and burying two people under the rubble. The Bugimwera LCI chairman, Mr Stephen Makwasi, identified the dead as Francis Wamboga, 42, and Zita Nafuna, 72, whom he said were reportedly in their house at the time of the disaster. Rescue measures The Sironko RDC, Mr Hussein Matanda, said from the assessment carried out, about 130 homesteads also need to be evacuated from the areas of Bugimwera and Gombe at the slopes of Mt. Elgon as the rain intensifies. “It is sad that the two people who were buried under the rubble were in their house at about 3am when the mudslides rolled down. Our appeal is that people be evacuated from the slopes of Mt. Elgon to the lowlands for safety,” Mr Matanda said yesterday. Ms Diana Nandawula, the eastern regional police spokesperson, confirmed the deaths and asked residents to relocate. The Uganda Wildlife Authority warden in-charge of tourism, Mr Richard Matanda, said the disasters at the slopes of Mt. Elgon have become common because of the growing population which is putting pressure on the land. He revealed that most people living at the slopes of Mt. Elgon have cut down trees on the mountains and destroyed vegetation as they search for land to cultivate and settle. This is the third time in the recent past that mudslides are occurring in the Mt. Elgon area. In March 2010, a mudslide buried about 355 people in Bududa District. While in September another mudslide struck Bulambuli and killed about 32 people, a disaster that forced the government to relocate residents around the Mt. Elgon area to Kiryandongo, in Western Uganda. Environment experts have warned that there is a growing crack across the Mt. Elgon that has since deepened to 30 centimetres, a sign of a great damage for the settlers. Sironko LC5 Chairman James Nabende says the heavy rain is likely to cause a lot of disasters in the district because of the poor cultivation methods that have left the ground bare. Monday 4 June 2012 http://in2eastafrica.net/two-dead-32-displaced-as-mudslide-sweeps-through-sironko/