Death Toll from Uganda Landslides Rises to 20 as Search Efforts Continue

The death toll from the recent landslides in Uganda has climbed to 20, with rescue teams continuing their search for survivors in affected areas.

On Friday, additional bodies were recovered from the mud in eastern Uganda, while an injured person passed away in a hospital. This brought this week’s landslide death toll to 20, according to officials as search efforts continued in the affected area.

On Wednesday night, heavy rains caused landslides that buried six villages in Bulambuli—located 280 kilometers (175 miles) east of Kampala, the capital of Uganda. Approximately 125 houses were destroyed.

Uganda Red Cross Society spokesperson, Irene Kasiita, informed reporters that on Friday the bodies of four additional individuals were discovered. Additionally, a fifth person who was injured in the landslides passed away at Mbale Hospital.

In a statement, the society reported that 750 people had been displaced. Of those, 216 were temporarily residing at a nearby school while others were staying with relatives.

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Faheera Mpalanyi, the Resident District Commissioner of Bulambuli, announced that soldiers have been deployed to assist with the digging.

“There are still more bodies buried beneath the piles of soil and stones, and we are doing everything possible to recover them,” she said.

On Thursday, local officials informed a journalist in the region that an excavator was going to be brought in to aid rescue efforts. However, mud-covered roads and ongoing rain were complicating operations. The affected area spans approximately 50 acres, encompassing homesteads and farmlands situated downhill.

Lawmaker Irene Muloni from Bulambuli district announced on Thursday that the government would assist in relocating residents from areas prone to landslides.

“Waterfalls are abundant, and the rainfall is overwhelming,” she stated, encouraging everyone who’s lost their home to take shelter with family members and “evacuate this hazardous area.”

Sources • AP