Massive landslide hits Uganda mountain region: hundreds affected
Heavy rains caused devastating landslide in eastern Ugandaʼs mountain area leaving many buried under mud. Local authorities and Red Cross teams work non-stop searching for missing people in affected villages
In a heart-breaking turn of events heavy rains triggered a massive mud-slide in Ugandas eastern region just this week. The disaster struck Bulambuli district (located bout 300 km from Kampala) affecting multiple hill-side communities
My niece was buried with the baby
The death count reached 17 with over 100 people still un-accounted for; the mud-flow completely destroyed 45 house-holds while damaging many others. Charles Odongtho from the Prime Ministers office expressed his shock at the high numbers despite their early-warning efforts
The catastrophe comes during a period of non-typical weather patterns since Oct-2024 which also caused the River Nile to over-flow its banks. Local rescue teams including police and Red-Cross workers continue their search-and-rescue work in tough conditions
The area has a history of such events — similar disaster happened about 14 years ago taking 80 lives. Environmental factors play a big role in these tragedies:
- Mountain-side forest clearing
- Over-use of land for farming
- Lack of natural barriers
- Seasonal rain patterns
The government keeps asking people to move away from danger-zones but many locals dont have other options. Meanwhile rescue teams dig through deep mud looking for survivors in what used to be vibrant village communities
