Another landslide looming in Bududa, Uganda

More than 300 people were buried under thousands of tons of earth and rocks in Bududa early March

Deadly landslides in the mountainous region of Bududa, about 275km east of the capital Kampala, killed more than 300 people  on March 1, 2010.

… there was a loud noise, like an explosion, that was accompanied by heavy stones rolling down Mt. Elgon … 10 minutes later, mud buried the residents who had taken shelter at the trading center and heath center. Others who were in their houses were also buried.

The worst rains and flooding in recent history to strike eastern Uganda, which triggered deadly landslide, killing 86 people, have left thousands of people homeless.  Massive mudslides from Mount Elgon near the Uganda-Kenya border have buried three villages in the Bududa district, 275km from the capital, Kampala, various news reports said.

Large Landslide in Bududa, Uganda

A natural-color image of the area struck by the deadly landslide acquired by the Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s EO-1 satellite on March 11, 2010.Tiny white dots scattered throughout the image and close to the western slopes of Mt. Elgon are probably corrugated metal roofs reflecting light. Source NASA. Large image (5 MB, JPEG)

Sounds of cracking rocks can be heard several meters away from the hill—officials

The official are now saying another landslide may be imminent in Bududa as cracks in one of the hills overlooking Nametsi village are widening, Daily Monitor reported.

The hill which is currently home to at least a thousand people has developed a larger fracture caused by continued torrential rains, Gen Julius Oketta, the coordinator of disaster response was reported as saying.

“What we have seen today is that the other crack we saw the other day has again widened so it means that if more rain falls, there is a possibility that this hill can crack. My humble appeal to all the elements in the Bugisu sub region especially Bududa and Manafwa and other areas, should watch out. Let the district leaders be more alert and warn the local authorities. We shouldn’t wait until it falls,” Gen Oketta warned.

More than 300,000 people have been displaced by floods in eastern Uganda, a cabinet minister has said. “The floods have affected over 300,000 people in three districts,” the deputy minister for disaster preparedness and refugees, Musa Eceru told reporters. “We trying to raise funds to help the affected people and we are calling for aid from both local and international sources.” A report said.

Ugandan government said about 500,000  living in mountainous areas of Uganda will have to be relocated because of the risk of mudslides.

Related Links:

• Earth Unhappiest Planet to Live on: Majority
• 2010 Disaster Calender [March]
• Global Weather Chaos
• Drought and Deluge: Two Major Mechanisms of Collapse
• 10 Facts on Climate Change

Earth Unhappiest Planet to Live on: Majority

Flood, Mudslide, Disease: Human Disasters

Earth must be the unhappiest planet to live on for the majority of its animal species [humans included] – but in most places condoms are distributed for free!

UGANDA

A cow that was also swept away by the mudslides. The mudslides buried crops, animals and people.  Credit: Daily Monitor – Uganda. Image may be subject to copyright.

The search for the missing has finally ended more than a week after the mudslides buried three villages in Bududa district, eastern Uganda. “The rescuers have only managed to retrieve only about 89 bodies and they seem to have lost strength and hope. We are thinking about officially stopping the retrieval on Tuesday and then we shall be advised on what next.” A local official said.

Up to 350 had previously been reported missing, which should now be presumed dead.  The Ugandan mudslide disaster is a direct consequence of climate change.

“At least 104 people, mostly children, have been reported to suffer from diarrhea at the Bukalsi Health Center in Bududa.” UN news said.

“Working with the Ugandan Government, which is leading the emergency response, UN officials have said that so far there are no reports of cholera, but warned about the possible health risks of increased malaria, acute malnutrition and psychological disorders.”

NEPAL

Humanitarian agencies [let’s hope they are not embedded by the international aid/charity mafia]  in Nepal say more than 3.4 million vulnerable people across the country are in need of life-saving assistance, especially food aid, in 2010.

“Nearly half of Nepal’s districts are experiencing food shortages and the humanitarian country team estimates that nearly 2.5 million people face extreme food insecurity, mainly in the Midand far-western hill and mountain regions.” OCHA reported.

Nepal is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, especially floods, landslides and earthquakes. “In 2009, some 152,000 people were affected by monsoon floods and landslides. Preparedness activities in water, sanitation and hygiene are also needed following a severe diarrhea outbreak in western districts of Nepal last year.”

“As a country emerging from conflict, Nepal needs sustained international humanitarian support to see it through this fragile period of transition,” said John Holmes, United Nations Under- Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. “An estimated 28,000 children die every year from preventable diseases, some of them the consequences of severe malnutrition. Most of these problems can be solved with adequate donor support,” Mr. Holmes said.

At least 70 percent of household budgets, especially in rural areas, goes to buying food, “and dependence on subsistence agriculture remains high. Inadequate funding for agriculture in 2009 is believed to have compounded the effects of the severe winter drought. Sufficient investment in agriculture might have mitigated the current food crisis.”

MOZAMBIQUE

About 130,000 people are being evacuated in Mozambique as  rising waters in the country’s three main rivers prompted the authorities to declare a red alert, which imposes an evacuation order on the area, for the regions along the Zambezi River, Noticias newspaper said, AFP reported.

“At least two people have died in floods in the central Mozambican province of Sofala, reports Monday’s issue of the independent daily O Pais,” All Africa reported.

Mozambique is a flood-prone area. The rainy season in the 2000, 2001 and 2007  triggered deadly floods drove half a million from their homes, and left 700 people dead.

ANGOLA

At least 10,000 people have lost their homes to floods in Angola’s southern province of Cunene,  the state-owned news agency Angop reported.

In 2009 the floods in southern Angola killed at least 20 people .

Meanwhile, All Africa reported that the Angolan Red Cross had distributed 136,828 free condoms between June and December 2009 in the municipalities of Namacunde, Ombadja and Kwanhama, in southern Cunene province.

KENYA

The recently flooded regions of Kenya may be hit by water-borne diseases including  UN health organizations have warned, urging for organized hygiene campaigns. The 2010 rainy season in Kenya, which is expected to last until late June/ early July, has already claimed 18 lives and affected the lives of more than 10,000 others. The worst affected areas are located in the northern, north-eastern and western regions of the country.

In northern Kenya, health authorities have warned about a cholera outbreak because most of the areas affected by floods lack clean drinking water, Kenya’s Daily Nation reported.

“In Mandera, the floods are said to have destroyed buildings and water sources. In Gucha District, most roads are impassable and crops have been destroyed by hailstones. Some 200 pupils of Got Kachola Primary School in Migori District are learning under trees after a storm destroyed their classrooms.” The report said.

Related Links:

• 2010 Disaster Calender [March]
• Global Weather Chaos
• Drought and Deluge: Two Major Mechanisms of Collapse
• 10 Facts on Climate Change
• Australian Coal and the Planet
• Australian fires toll may exceed 200
• The Australian Clean Energy Ruse
• A Living Hell Heated by Australian Coal
• 10 Facts on Climate Change