Landslides kill six, including five members of one family, in western Uganda
Heavy rainfall is likely to lead to the destruction of farmland, crops and a surge of water-related diseases such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery and malaria.
At least six people, including five members of the same family, were killed by landslides triggered by torrential rains in several villages in western Uganda, a relief agency said on Wednesday.
Five people from one family in Biizi village and another one in Gihuyaga village, both in Murora sub-county in the western district of Kisoro, were killed, said Irene Nakasiita, spokesperson for the Uganda Red Cross Society.
“Red Cross response teams are on ground, and also involved in exhumation and management of the dead, together with the local authorities and community members,” Nakasiita said in a statement.
Uganda last month issued a disaster alert warning that parts of the east African country will face floods, landslides, mudslides, hailstorms, and lightning as the first rain season starts.
According to the Ministry for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, parts of eastern, central, western regions and the Lake Victoria basin would experience near-normal to above-normal forms of rainfall up to May.
Heavy rainfall is likely to lead to the destruction of farmland, crops and a surge of water-related diseases such as typhoid, cholera, dysentery and malaria.
