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Uganda: Landslides destroy 3 villages; toll unknown
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 Monday.
Disaster Preparedness Minister Stephen Mallinga said it was still too early to say how many had been killed in Monday 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.
David Wakikona, a lawmaker from the region, said most people were likely indoors when huge blocks of mud and rocks started to roll down hills, toppling homes, killing livestock and burying people alive.
“We don’t yet understand how this all happened, but it’s terrible,” Wakikona said. “Three villages have been buried.”
According to Wakikona, at least 300 people lived in the affected villages. Officials said rescue teams from the Uganda army would play a lead role in moving the soil as the search for possible survivors begins.
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.
