President Yoweri Museveni has today morning dispatched a team of Ministers to Bulambuli district to carefully assess the situation, following a landslide disaster that befell the area.
Media was yesterday awash with news of terrible landslides which rocked Bumasugu Village, Buluganya Sub-County, Bulambuli district, in which seven members of the same family were feared dead after their house was buried as a result of the disaster.
An unknown number of Bumasugu residents are suspected to have also perished in the disaster, as they are still missing and efforts to retrieve them from the rubble are underway.
According to a report filed by Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) on the disaster, residents in the villages of Bumasugu, namagugu, Bulunganya and namakele are in distress, counting heavy losses after landslides obliterated their property, including their houses and crop plantations.
URCS said that by dawn of today, only one dead body of a child had been retrieved from the rubble, as efforts heat up to search for survivors using excavators.
In a desperate search for survivors yesterday evening, Peace Nanduga and Wamanda Solomon were retrieved from the rubble but in a worrying condition and rushed to Muyembe Health Center 1V for treatment.
Uganda’s Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja said cabinet was convened to an emergency session today early morning, to discuss modalities on how to rush to the rescue of these citizens whose way of life was shattered by landslides in Bulambuli.
State Minister for Disaster and Preparedness Hon. Esther Anyakun Davinia told 88.8 CBS FM today morning that President Museveni instructed the ministers to hastily go to Bulambuli and carefully assess the situation, with the prime aim of identifying and aiding those adversely affected by the disaster.
The Spokesperson for URCS Irene Nakasiita said efforts to search for survivors under the rubble which started yesterday and carried on to today are underway.
“By the end of yesterday, our team was at the site of the destruction, trying to establish other areas that were devastated by the landsides, and in buluganya parish, villages including Namasugu, namakele, and namagugu were among the areas that were devastated by the disaster,” Nakasiita said.
“Two survivors were retrieved from rubble with terrible injuries and rushed to Muyembe Health Center IV, while a male citizen, reportedly aged 15 years was found dead. 7 people are still missing, but rescuerers are working in close collaboration with the natives, local leaders. We are working together to find these people who are said to be missing”
It should be remembered that in the evening of May 25th, a heavy downpour, which lasted for about 8 hours rocked Bulambuli district, leading to the reduction of soil stregth, hence landslides that burried people’s homes and led to the obliteration of crops and animals.
Some of those whose houses were buried or destroyed beyond repair have started seeking shelter at the nearby Masugu primary school.
On May 8th this year, President Museveni ordered citizens whose shelters were situated near floods prone areas to vacate them immediately, and that no building should be constructed near hills with a gradient greater than 360 degrees.
This is not the first time landslides have wrecked hovac on Bulambuli residents. Every year, citzens in this district loose their lives, and property to such catastrophes, inculding areas of Kasese, Mbale, Bududa and others district in the Eastern parts of Uganda.
Uganda is prone to climatic disasters including floods, mudslides, landslides and this sad development comes against the backdrop of the flooding of river Katonga on May 11th, destroying the area bridge and endangering transportation services along Kampala-Masaka highway.
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