The Ugandan government has ordered the relocation of over 5,000 households in eastern Uganda as a massive land fissure threatens to unleash another deadly landslide. This comes after devastating rains in late November triggered landslides in the Bulambuli district, killing at least 36 people, with scores still missing.
State Minister for Relief and Disaster Preparedness, Lillian Aber, warned on Sunday of the danger posed by a huge crack on land in the mountains covering about 70 kilometres (44 miles). She urged residents to evacuate immediately, stating, “We can’t wait for a disaster to happen.”
Residents in the affected mountainous districts, including Bulambuli, Mbale, and Bududa, have been given two weeks to leave voluntarily before authorities enforce evacuations. The government has promised evacuees a resettlement package of cash and land.
The heavy rains, intensified by the El Niño weather phenomenon, have caused havoc across East Africa. Uganda has seen landslides claim lives almost every rainy season, while neighbouring Kenya has reported over 228 fatalities and the displacement of more than 200,000 people in the same period.
The region remains vulnerable to extreme weather events, with memories of the 2010 Bududa landslide, which killed over 350 people, still fresh in many minds.
