Massive rains disrupt farming and transport
May 21, 2010
WHEREAS the rainy season is approaching an end, the damage it has caused countrywide is big. The biggest casualties have been the mountainous areas of eastern and southwestern Uganda, where landslides killed, injured, displaced and impoverished people.
By Vision team
WHEREAS the rainy season is approaching an end, the damage it has caused countrywide is big. The biggest casualties have been the mountainous areas of eastern and southwestern Uganda, where landslides killed, injured, displaced and impoverished people.
In Kabale, the residents will not forget May 15, 2010, when it rained for nine hours, in Bukinda, Rwamucucu and Maziba sub-counties. Huge volumes of water gushed down the hills carrying stones, soil and boulders that destroyed property along the slopes and finally depositing the rubble in the valley.
The most affected areas were Karorwa, Nyabirerema, Muhanga, Kandago, Kyerero and Kahondo in Bukinda and Maziba sub-counties. Over 600 people in more than 100 families were affected. One adult died in the disaster. During his funeral rain threatened to fall again, prompting relatives to bury him in a hurry.
Over 30 buildings were demolished. Floods swept off over 500hectares of crop gardens. Families lost their entire food stocks and traders lost merchandise. Many went to live in churches while others went to their relatives in other villages. Water springs were covered up. Roads and bridges were destroyed. The floods dug deep gullies on hillside, rendering some of the land unsuitable for cultivation. The Kabale-Rukungiri road was closed for some time. A 60-year-old man, Edward Magezi, said he had not seen such rains since the 1960s. He lost a house but is thankful to God for saving his life.
Two months earlier, heavy rains led to a landslide in Nametsi, in Bududa district. It buried about 350 people though only fewer than 100 bodies were recovered. It buried an entire trading centre and a health facility. More than 3,000 people were displaced by the landslide, and are now living in camps. Since then, residents of Bududa and surrounding districts have been living in fear of fresh landslides.
Their situation has been made worse by reports that a 40-km long crack has developed on the slopes of Mt. Elgon, threatening the lives of 8,000 people in eight districts.
Efforts to relocate those displaced by the landslides have hit a snag because some do not want to be taken away from their ancestral land.
There was an outbreak of cholera not only in Bududa, but also the neighbouring districts. Other districts such as Tororo and Butaleja have been affected by floods caused by excessive runoff water from the mountainous Bugisu region.
River Malaba, which originates from the Mt Elgon area, diverted at a point in Ngetta C village, Iyolwa sub-county, Tororo district, causing farmers to lose over 200 acres of land. On Monday the river banks collapsed inwards at a bend, blocking the water flow. The water then forced its way in another direction, creating a new river in people’s gardens. Since the river marks the boundary between Tororo and Busia districts, farmers in Ngetta stand to lose part of their land to a neighbouring district.
The Busia side is occupied by the Samia while the Tororo side, into which the river has curved, is occupied by the Jopadhola.
The village’s LC1 vice-chairperson, Micheal Mukama, estimates that more than 50 families have been affected. He fears land wrangles as people on the opposite side might begin to claim all the land that has been cut off by the river.
“This is a grave matter that may spark off violent confrontation between the two communities at this district boundary,†Mukama said.
Isidore Onyango, 77, said the river flowedmore than a kilometre into his land. His gardens have now become a fishing ground while some crops have been swept off. The residential areas have, however, not been affected.
“This area where you see the river flowing was part of my rice garden,†said Onyango, a retired teacher.
In Kasese district over 300 persons in Kisinga sub-county, Bukonzo county, have been forced to spend nights in the cold after their houses were flooded with water and others destroyed by landslides following a heavy down pour on May 17, 2010. The sub-county chairman, Benjamin Bwambale, identified the most affected villages as Bughema, Mughina and Kamahanga all in Nyabirongo parish.
This is the second time the parish is hit by landslides and floods in the last two months. Bwambale said crops like bananas, cassava and beans were destroyed creating fears of famine. No deaths or injury to human beings were reported.
Mike Mukirane, the Uganda Red Cross Society Kasese branch coordinator, appealed for support from the Government and development partners. “What we took there is not enough compared to the number of people affected,†said Mukirane.
In Mbarara district the rains have been unusually heavy for the last one month, destroying crops and property. This has prompted farmers to increase the prices of their crops. A bunch of matooke now costs sh10000 from the farmers while in the local markets, it is sh13,000.
In Isingiro district floods disrupted the rehabilitation of part of Isingiro-Kikagate road. At Mile 19 floods killed a one-year-old child two weeks ago. The district LCV chairman, Ignatius Byaruhanga, confirmed the death adding that a hailstorm destroyed crops and property in Mbale, Kikagate and Kabuyanda sub-counties.
In Kiruhura district, hailstorm destroyed crops in Bwasamure village, Nyakasharara parish and Kamugija in Rushere.
In Kabarole district the business community has suffered, especially those who deal in cold drinks, boda boda riders, newspaper vendors and farmers.
Ben Aliganyira, a farmer from Kichwamba sub-county in Kabarole district, said the rains had limited the time they spend working in the gardens, which might reduce their yields. The rains also spoilt roads, making it hard for farmers to transport their produce to town for sale.
Robert Ssenabulya, a produce trader in Fort Portal municipality, told Saturday Vision that he had waited for four days for the rain to reduce so that he can go to Harugonga village to load his matooke.
The Kabarole district NAADS coordinator, Grace Kazigati, said farmer training programmes had been affected because people do not turn up due to rain.
David Mugume, a boda boda rider in Fort portal town, said his daily income had reduced from sh20,000 to sh3,000.
Rose Kabasita of Mpanga Market used to sell 8-10 crates of soda daily but now she hardly sells two as most people find the weather not conducive for cold drinks.
In Katebwa sub-county, a landslide displaced over 500 people at the beginning of March after heavy rains. The area is close to Mt. Rwenzori.
Hoima district was not spared either. Most of the murram roads have become totally impassable. Motorists travelling from Hoima to Fort Portal have to pass through Kampala because the direct route has become impassable. The direct route is 97km yet passing via Kampala is more than 300km.
Latif Bingi, the manger of the Muhorro Area cooperative enterprise, said that the farmers had failed to transport their maize to the bulking centers due to the daily rains. “Our farmers are still stuck with the maize in the villages because vehicles can not collect them due to muddy roads,†he said.
Rivers that had never flooded such as river Mpamba, 5km on the Kagadi-Hoima road, has burst its banks, making it difficult for motorists to operate.
Beekeepers are complaining of poor harvests because bees spend most of the time in the hives instead of going out to collect nectar and pollen from flowers. “We have had the worst harvest in years and honey has become scarce, said Emily Kugonza, the executive director of EMESCO development foundation that packages honey in Kibaale.
So devastating has been the effect of the heavy rains that no Ugandan can claim they have not been affected in any way.
WHEREAS the rainy season is approaching an end, the damage it has caused countrywide is big. The biggest casualties have been the mountainous areas of eastern and southwestern Uganda, where landslides killed, injured, displaced and impoverished people.
In Kabale, the residents will not forget May 15, 2010, when it rained for nine hours, in Bukinda, Rwamucucu and Maziba sub-counties. Huge volumes of water gushed down the hills carrying stones, soil and boulders that destroyed property along the slopes and finally depositing the rubble in the valley.
The most affected areas were Karorwa, Nyabirerema, Muhanga, Kandago, Kyerero and Kahondo in Bukinda and Maziba sub-counties. Over 600 people in more than 100 families were affected. One adult died in the disaster. During his funeral rain threatened to fall again, prompting relatives to bury him in a hurry.
Over 30 buildings were demolished. Floods swept off over 500hectares of crop gardens. Families lost their entire food stocks and traders lost merchandise. Many went to live in churches while others went to their relatives in other villages. Water springs were covered up. Roads and bridges were destroyed. The floods dug deep gullies on hillside, rendering some of the land unsuitable for cultivation. The Kabale-Rukungiri road was closed for some time. A 60-year-old man, Edward Magezi, said he had not seen such rains since the 1960s. He lost a house but is thankful to God for saving his life.
Two months earlier, heavy rains led to a landslide in Nametsi, in Bududa district. It buried about 350 people though only fewer than 100 bodies were recovered. It buried an entire trading centre and a health facility. More than 3,000 people were displaced by the landslide, and are now living in camps. Since then, residents of Bududa and surrounding districts have been living in fear of fresh landslides.
Their situation has been made worse by reports that a 40-km long crack has developed on the slopes of Mt. Elgon, threatening the lives of 8,000 people in eight districts.
Efforts to relocate those displaced by the landslides have hit a snag because some do not want to be taken away from their ancestral land.
There was an outbreak of cholera not only in Bududa, but also the neighbouring districts. Other districts such as Tororo and Butaleja have been affected by floods caused by excessive runoff water from the mountainous Bugisu region.
River Malaba, which originates from the Mt Elgon area, diverted at a point in Ngetta C village, Iyolwa sub-county, Tororo district, causing farmers to lose over 200 acres of land. On Monday the river banks collapsed inwards at a bend, blocking the water flow. The water then forced its way in another direction, creating a new river in people’s gardens. Since the river marks the boundary between Tororo and Busia districts, farmers in Ngetta stand to lose part of their land to a neighbouring district.
The Busia side is occupied by the Samia while the Tororo side, into which the river has curved, is occupied by the Jopadhola.
The village’s LC1 vice-chairperson, Micheal Mukama, estimates that more than 50 families have been affected. He fears land wrangles as people on the opposite side might begin to claim all the land that has been cut off by the river.
“This is a grave matter that may spark off violent confrontation between the two communities at this district boundary,†Mukama said.
Isidore Onyango, 77, said the river flowedmore than a kilometre into his land. His gardens have now become a fishing ground while some crops have been swept off. The residential areas have, however, not been affected.
“This area where you see the river flowing was part of my rice garden,†said Onyango, a retired teacher.
In Kasese district over 300 persons in Kisinga sub-county, Bukonzo county, have been forced to spend nights in the cold after their houses were flooded with water and others destroyed by landslides following a heavy down pour on May 17, 2010. The sub-county chairman, Benjamin Bwambale, identified the most affected villages as Bughema, Mughina and Kamahanga all in Nyabirongo parish.
This is the second time the parish is hit by landslides and floods in the last two months. Bwambale said crops like bananas, cassava and beans were destroyed creating fears of famine. No deaths or injury to human beings were reported.
Mike Mukirane, the Uganda Red Cross Society Kasese branch coordinator, appealed for support from the Government and development partners. “What we took there is not enough compared to the number of people affected,†said Mukirane.
In Mbarara district the rains have been unusually heavy for the last one month, destroying crops and property. This has prompted farmers to increase the prices of their crops. A bunch of matooke now costs sh10000 from the farmers while in the local markets, it is sh13,000.
In Isingiro district floods disrupted the rehabilitation of part of Isingiro-Kikagate road. At Mile 19 floods killed a one-year-old child two weeks ago. The district LCV chairman, Ignatius Byaruhanga, confirmed the death adding that a hailstorm destroyed crops and property in Mbale, Kikagate and Kabuyanda sub-counties.
In Kiruhura district, hailstorm destroyed crops in Bwasamure village, Nyakasharara parish and Kamugija in Rushere.
In Kabarole district the business community has suffered, especially those who deal in cold drinks, boda boda riders, newspaper vendors and farmers.
Ben Aliganyira, a farmer from Kichwamba sub-county in Kabarole district, said the rains had limited the time they spend working in the gardens, which might reduce their yields. The rains also spoilt roads, making it hard for farmers to transport their produce to town for sale.
Robert Ssenabulya, a produce trader in Fort Portal municipality, told Saturday Vision that he had waited for four days for the rain to reduce so that he can go to Harugonga village to load his matooke.
The Kabarole district NAADS coordinator, Grace Kazigati, said farmer training programmes had been affected because people do not turn up due to rain.
David Mugume, a boda boda rider in Fort portal town, said his daily income had reduced from sh20,000 to sh3,000.
Rose Kabasita of Mpanga Market used to sell 8-10 crates of soda daily but now she hardly sells two as most people find the weather not conducive for cold drinks.
In Katebwa sub-county, a landslide displaced over 500 people at the beginning of March after heavy rains. The area is close to Mt. Rwenzori.
Hoima district was not spared either. Most of the murram roads have become totally impassable. Motorists travelling from Hoima to Fort Portal have to pass through Kampala because the direct route has become impassable. The direct route is 97km yet passing via Kampala is more than 300km.
Latif Bingi, the manger of the Muhorro Area cooperative enterprise, said that the farmers had failed to transport their maize to the bulking centers due to the daily rains. “Our farmers are still stuck with the maize in the villages because vehicles can not collect them due to muddy roads,†he said.
Rivers that had never flooded such as river Mpamba, 5km on the Kagadi-Hoima road, has burst its banks, making it difficult for motorists to operate.
Beekeepers are complaining of poor harvests because bees spend most of the time in the hives instead of going out to collect nectar and pollen from flowers. “We have had the worst harvest in years and honey has become scarce, said Emily Kugonza, the executive director of EMESCO development foundation that packages honey in Kibaale.
So devastating has been the effect of the heavy rains that no Ugandan can claim they have not been affected in any way.