Kilembe hospital closed after floods displaced patients

May 10, 2020

Huge volumes of water washed through homes including the referral facility, which forced the administration to close down the facility.

DISASTER   FLOODS

KASESE - There was shock and fear as residents and patients at the Kilembe Mines Hospital in Kasese, Western Uganda, ran for their lives after rivers Nyamugasani, Nyamwamba and Mubuku burst their banks on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

 
Huge volumes of water washed through homes including the referral facility, which forced the administration to close down the facility. 

 
The community joined the medical workers to rescue patients to nearby structures as running water swept through the wards, destroying drugs and other medical equipment. The river also swept away a number of homes along the way, displacing many and destroying property.

 
State minister for disaster preparedness, Musa Ecweru, Kasese Municipality Member of Parliament, Robert Centenary and UPDF soldiers Thursday flew to the area to assess the situation.

 

 
The minister said he had ordered for relief food and relief items to be delivered to the area and directed the district leadership to make a situation report for further assistance.

 
There were fears that the river, which flows from Mt. Rwenzori might overspill again since the area experiences heavy rains around this time of the year.

 
Several people were seen carrying away their property while others were still searching for missing items.

 
At Kilembe Mines hospital, the administration said patients had been relocated to nearby health facilities as they wait for the services to be reinstated.

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