Mt Elgon mudslides: Warning of more potential danger
Nov 01, 2024
“Homes affected have been swept away, and domestic animals are still buried in the rubble,” Aber said.
Aber warned of more disaster in Bulambuli after major cracks were cited during her visit. (Photo by Javier Silas Omagor)
Javier Silas Omagor
Journalist @New Vision
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Disaster preparedness state minister, Lilian Aber, was Thursday in Uganda's eastern district of Bulambuli to assess the magnitude of the damage caused by last Sunday's mudslides — triggered by torrential rains.
The affected villages include Kifudu, Kikuyu, Nakitembeti, Nambekye, Lukungu, Kikolo West and Mapeera, all located in Namisuni sub-county in Elgon North County.
In her Thursday visit to the affected villages, Aber warned that the area faces more risks, saying that some of the rocks overlooking the other villages in Bulambuli had developed life-threatening cracks.
“Homes affected have been swept away, and domestic animals are still buried in the rubble,” she said.
“What is scarier right now is the fact that we have seen more cracks dangling over more villages and that only means that another landslide could occur.
"Our people are endangered and require urgent solutions which we are working on day in, day out," said the minister.
Some of the affected Bulambuli residents. (File/Javier Silas Omagor)
'Unsung hero'
To mitigate the risk, Aber urged the Bulambuli leadership together with officials from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to embrace community sensitization.
“I have directed the Bulambuli leadership, including the lower units, to actively sensitize and send messages of early warning to the population residing in disaster-prone areas.
A couple braves debris left behind by the Bulambuli mudslide. (File/Javier Silas Omagor)
“We are asking them to vacate their homes with immediate effect. Some of them can join their friends who are already camping at our temporary site at Namisuni sub-county or relocate to their relatives in the lower belt for now," she said.
Minister arriving in Bulambuli to assess mudslides which were triggered by rain. (Photo by Javier Silas Omagor)
A one Grace Nelima, upon seeing advanced signs of a mudslide, reportedly made an alarm to alert fellow residents of Sunday's looming danger.
“Her actions saved not only lives, but also the government and private sector a lot of money in compensations or helping the aggrieved families meet burial expenses, among others,” said minister Aber.
“For me, this lady is the unsung hero whom we should all celebrate and emulate.”
'Frustrated'
During her meeting with hundreds of displaced people who are now camping at the Namisuni sub-county headquarters, Aber handed over an assortment of relief items.
Annet Nandudu, the Bulambuli LC5 chairperson, noted that although relief items are a handy remedy for the disaster victims, the OPM must consider permanent solutions for the people residing in disaster-prone areas, especially those in Bulambuli.
LC5 Chairperson Bulambuli, Annet Nandudu, wants sustainable solutions from OPM for the affected people. (Photo by Javier Silas Omagor)
“As local leaders, we are frustrated by the way OPM is handling disaster management in Bulambuli district,” she said.
“Among the top disaster-prone districts in the Mount Elgon region, Bulambuli receives the least attention from the OPM. Our people have died in mudslides yearly but no permanent relocation plan has ever been implemented for those in disaster-prone villages.
“Relief items are handy but they should never be seen as a sustainable solution and so we should stop hoodwinking our people and serve them the right way," said Nandudu.
Lately, natural disasters — floods, landslides and mudslides — have been a menace in Bulambuli.
In July 2023, several sub-counties, including Buluganya as the most affected, were hit hard, with school children among those killed and an estimated 500 displaced by landslides.
In September 2022, thousands of residents were rendered homeless and five were killed by flooding and waterlogging.
In 2010, the Government had to relocate and resettle more than 3,000 people from neighbouring Bududa district to Kiryandongo district after villages were ravaged by landslides.
The Government has also relocated thousands of people from Bududa to Bunambutye in neighbouring Bulambuli (to the lower belt) in recent years.
Besides the Elgon sub-region, other regions too bear the brunt of climatic shocks, such as waterlogging and flooding in Teso and Bukedi, landslides and floods in western as well as prolonged drought in Karamoja and northern Uganda.