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A house that submerged in water after river Nyamugasana burst its banks in Kasese district, causing displacement to the occupants.
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At least five Kasese rivers flowing from Mt. Rwenzori have burst their banks leaving a trail of property destruction and displacement of people.
The waters from Nyamugasana, Nyamwamba, Sebwe, Mubuku and Rwimi rivers surged beyond normal levels yesterday, wrecking homes within the surrounding areas, according to the local authorities in Kasese.
The affected families and Kasese district leaders have cried out for help from the central government in the wake of the latest disaster.
A building that was put down by running water from River Rwimi in Kasese district when it burst its banks.
According to Kasese district vice-chairman, Ham Natuhwera, they are facing a very unfortunate situation with the disasters and since they are constrained to effectively respond due to lack of resources.
“We do not have a budget to respond to disasters and the other unfortunate part is the fact the floods happened in the mountainous areas, which require strong vehicles to access," Natuhwera said.
He, however, noted that government teams were already on the ground to ascertain the extent of the damage caused by the floods. “We are continuing to engage the office of the Prime Minister and other organisations to come to our rescue,” he said.
Natuhwera added that among the affected are the Persons With Disability (PWDs), who can hardly move from one point to another.
Martin Ssenoga, the programme manager for the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) revealed that they have also sent a team on the ground to rescue mostly PWDs.
“We have received reports of several PWDs who lose their items as well as lives in disaster-related incidents hence the reason why we came on the ground to find out those who have been affected. With the guidance of the district leadership, we have been able to visit several IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps and capture their information," Ssenoga said.
He added; "We largely care about their lives and we will be lobbying for them relief items on top of the support we accord them always."
Silvester Kule Walyuba, the proprietor of Kiwa heritage site located in Kasese Municipality, said he registered huge losses after floods washed away the structures of cultural sites, museums among other heritage sites.
Fresh floods at River Nyamugasana in Kasese district.
"Tourists might fear coming again and yet this is where I get money to do everything for my family,” Walyuba noted.
Stephen Mbalhuwako Bwambale, a resident of Mahango village in Mahango sub-county, said he lost a four-room house after it was hit by mudslides.
Bwambale, who has since relocated his family to the nearby St. James Mahango church of Uganda, cried out; “I need at least sh10m to replace my house and resettle my family of five people.”
The Kasese district authorities reported that at least eight affected families have so far been identified.
Augustine Baluku Kanoti, the general secretary Kisanga cell in Kyarumba sub-county, said that the floods have swept away many houses in his area. He, however, advised people leaving in the lowlands of Kyarumba to relocated to uphill areas to avoid the floods.
According to the Office of the Prime Minister, the government has a wider disaster management framework covering the Mt. Rwenzori, Mt. Elgon and Kigezi areas.
The state minister for ICT and national guidance, Godfrey Kabbyanga, who hails from Kasese, said the month of May has always been full of disasters.
He said the Government teams among others made of Kasese district leaders were already on the ground to assess the effects of the latest floods.
“We have always assured people to get prepared and we have really tried to put mitigation measures including early warning systems and that is why floods do not kill people. What killed people were the landslides and mudslides. With floods, most of these rivers now have early warning systems,” Kabyanga said.
By press time, Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) was yet to ascertain the extent of the damage caused by the latest floods. When contacted, URCS spokesperson Irene Nakasiita could not give a clear picture of their next course of action.
However, on its X (formerly Twitter) handle, URCS issued an alert noting a significant increase in water levels around River Nyamwamba and Nyamugasani in Kasese.
“Due to a substantial rise in water levels, the risk for flooding remains high. We have deployed response action teams on the ground to ensure the safety of community members, advising them not to cross the rivers, moving to safer places and sharing more advisories to keep the community informed and safe,” URCS said.
