Hundreds feared dead as mudslide hits Ugandan villages

Deutsche Welle, 25 June 2012

A mudslide has destroyed three villages in eastern Uganda, with hundreds of people feared dead. The slide followed heavy rains in an area where deforestation is thought to contribute to the problem.

The death toll remains unknown after the incident at around lunchtime on Monday, though it was clear that a small group of settlements had been devastated.

"We know that at least 15 houses have been buried but we do not know how many people were inside them," said Uganda Red Cross spokeswoman Catherine Ntabadde, adding that rescue teams had been dispatched to the area.

Three villages in the Bumwalukani parish on the slopes of the extinct volcano Mount Elgon, near to the Kenyan border, were hit by the mudslides.

"We estimate that each village had about 100 people and so the number of people who died might reach 300," local parliamentarian David Wakikona said. "The areas around Bududa district have been experiencing heavy rains for days now and I am told the landslides started around midday [Monday] and that they're still going on."

It is the third time in three years that eastern Uganda has been hit by similar disasters. Two dozen people were killed last year when mud covered their homes in Mabono village. More than 300 people died in the same district when a mudslide hit the same district in 2010.

Thousands have been evacuated from the area as part a program to avert future disasters, although many have refused to move. Environmentalists claim the problem is exacerbated by deforestation, with the local soil very fine and prone to movement.

rc/msh (AP, dpa, Reuters)

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