Landslides Cut Off Bundibugyo

By Emmanuel Mulondo At least 145 families were left homeless after heavy rains washed away their homes in Bundibugyo district on Friday.The Resident District Commissioner, Dr. Elasto Gubare, said on Saturday over 500 gardens had also been destroyed.A vast part of the district was cut off from the rest of the country after the heavy rains swept away Umya bridge, four miles from Bundibugyo town.Steve Ainomugisha, the senior political mass mobiliser in the office of the Resident District Commissioner, said the morning rains had also caused floods and landslides, displacing a big number of people.People in the subcounties of Harugali, Bubandi and Busaru of Bwamba county could not cross to Fort Portal and vice versa. Bubandi also has the administrative town of the district. Ainomugisha said the magnitude of the problem had not yet been quantified but immediate assistance was needed.He said there was concern that the low-lying areas of Rwebisengo in the north-east of the district could have been flooded also.“We have not yet got the information from there but we highly suspect many people could have been displaced there also,” he said. There were also landslides in many affected areas. The Chief Administrative Officer, Gideon Kaija, said it would take about two weeks to clear the huge masses of mud at Umya.He said passengers from Fort Portal travelling to Bundibugyo were disembarking vehicles at Umya and climbing hills to cross over.Vehicles have also been getting stuck particularly at the Semliki game reserve.Ends