4 October 2009

Kampala — AT LEAST six people, five of them children, have been confirmed dead after a landslide hit Kyokyezo village in Rubanda county, Kabale district. According to Rubanda MP Godfrey Ahabwe, four bodies have been recovered.

Two children, twins, were still trapped under the mud, Ahabwe added. One of the deceased was identified as 29-year-old Annabel Anyijuka.

"This is a disaster and it needs the attention of the Government," said Ahabwe, who is also the State Minister for Local Government.

The landslide swept through Bwindi parish following heavy rains at lunchtime on Saturday.

It took only seconds for the earth on the upper ridges to give away, crushing the shops and residences in the valley.

Samson Besigye, the Bubare LC3 chairman, said hundreds of people in the parishes of Bwindi and Igomanda have been left homeless.

Most of the victims spent Saturday night under trees without food since the landslide swept away their gardens, he added.

Kabale RDC Cox Nyakairu estimates that 500 residents in Bubale and Hamurwa parish lost their property.

Among the buildings washed away are shops at Igomanda trading centre, a primary school block, library, toilets at Kyokyezo Primary School and furniture belonging to Kyokyezo Church of Uganda.

Kabale district leaders attribute the problem to climate change.

Landslides, along with floods, are listed as some of the symptoms of global warming, which are hitting the world with increased frequency.

Global warming is caused by waste gases, such as carbon dioxide, which form a 'blanket' around the earth and is responsible for trapping heat escaping from the earth. This leads to climate change, characterised by erratic weather patterns, causing floods and droughts.

The Minister of Disaster Preparedness, Tarsis Kabwegyere last month warned people living in mountainous areas of likely incidences of landslides.

The minister also warned people occupying the plains of Teso and western Uganda about possible floods.

Maria Mutagamba, the environment minister, said the peak of the El Nino rains is expected in mid-October.

The minister asked people living in wetlands and flood-prone areas to move to safer areas.

"Churches and mosques are usually located in safe places and this is where people should relocate if they notice signs of disaster," Martin Owor, a commissioner in the disaster preparedness ministry, told The New Vision yesterday.

"The problem is that too many people choose to stay, hoping that disaster will not strike."

He pointed at deforestation as a result of population pressure as one of the causes of land slides.

"The intense population pressure has caused environmental degradation. When heavy rains come, landslides occur, sweeping away houses and crops since there are no barriers to check the run-off."

He cited Sironko in eastern Ugandans as one of the areas where they have successfully encouraged people to plant trees.

"We have given them tree species that have deep roots to mitigate the impact."

allafrica