Uganda's Parliament pays tribute to those who lost their lives in different recent disasters.

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By Kiyingi Godfrey/KMA

Uganda’s Parliament Thursday paid a moment of silence to those who lost their lives in the recent disasters.

Yesterday 18 people were confirmed dead in the region of Kigezi and Rwenzori after a heavy down pour of rain that even left roads and properties destroyed.

While chairing the house this afternoon, the speaker of parliament Anita Among summoned the minister of disaster to present a report to parliament indicating the government short and long term plans in addressing disasters.

Speaker Among also reiterated the urgency by government to set up a disaster commission which would liaise with district disaster committees as required by the constitution.Share

Man carrying a woman in a flood — Image caption,

People have been forced from their homes as rivers burst their banks

According to BBC:

Flooding as a result of recent heavy rains has killed more than 260 people across East Africa.

Kenya has been the hardest hit with the government recording 194 deaths.

In Rwanda, 55 people have died and floods have killed 16 in Somalia. In Uganda high water levels have trapped an estimated 200 patients inside a hospital.

East African countries have also been hit by a locust invasion and Covid-19.

The authorities in Kenya have told people in some of the affected areas to move away from “potential danger”.

The water has also washed away 8,000 acres of crops and some vital infrastructure, the government has said.

Meteorologists predict that the heavier than usual rains will continue throughout May, reports the BBC’s Patience Atuhaire in Uganda’s capital, Kampala. The rainy season normally lasts until June.

Arafat Mugabo reported from Kigali, the Rwandan capital, and Emma Bubola from London.

May 3, 2023

More than 120 people were killed in devastating floods and landslides caused by heavy rains in Rwanda, the government said on Wednesday, the highest death toll from a flood reported in a single day in the country’s recent history.

Entire families were killed, injured or left homeless and in desperate need of assistance.

“I wanted to cry but couldn’t in front of my children,” said Martine Nsanimana, 40, a resident of a small village in Western Rwanda whose home and farmland were destroyed by the floods.

“If you saw how the farmland was washed away, you would want to cry,” said Mr. Nsanimana, a father of three.

The rains started on Tuesday, but residents said that some people were still trapped in their homes on Wednesday, suggesting that the number of deaths could rise. Local officials also warned that more homes could fall down.

Source:New York Times

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