Ugandans use hand tools to dig out mud; 93 dead, 265 still missing

[sharon sanders]

Ugandans use hand tools to dig out mud; 86 dead


By GODFREY OLUKYA (AP) ? 1 hour ago


NAMETSI, Uganda ? When Beatrice Nabuduwa's 12-year-old daughter failed to come home after school, the mother assumed her child had stayed over at an aunt's because of the heavy rainfall. Now the girl is among the hundreds of missing after mud slides engulfed the village.
"In the morning I was shocked to learn that the whole village was under mud," she said in Nametsi on Wednesday, where mud debris towered more than 16 feet high in some places. "I have failed to find her or her body."
Nabuduwa, 32, says she wishes God would have taken her life instead.
Rescuers in this remote corner of eastern Ugandan used hand tools Wednesday to dig through the thick rivers of mud that left more than 50 students missing under the debris and buried worshippers as they prayed in a church.

more....


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[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Ugandans use hand tools to dig out mud; 86 dead

Re: Ugandans use hand tools to dig out mud; 86 dead

UGANDA: Access problems limit landslide aid response
Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

Date: 03 Mar 2010


KAMPALA, 3 March 2010 (IRIN) - Bad weather and lack of on-the-ground data are restricting the relief response to the 1 March landslide that is believed to have killed hundreds of people in eastern Uganda.

The areas are inaccessible, and the use of rudimentary tools is slowing down the rescue operation in Bududa, where 88 bodies have been recovered and an estimated 300 others are still missing.

Kevin Nabutuwa, the Uganda Red Cross Programme officer for disaster management in the region, told IRIN that President Yoweri Museveni flew to the affected areas by helicopter on 3 March and witnessed the burial of the victims before he ordered that nearby villages susceptible to a similar tragedy be evacuated. Up to 1,000 families (an estimated 6,000 people) will be moved to safer places. The difficult terrain in the region has restricted any use of mechanized digging.

A team of UN and other relief agencies is on the ground to determine what type of response is needed. "We could not respond without data. So teams are now assessing the situation and by the end of the day, a more thorough relief operation will get under way," Nabutuwa said.

Burial ceremonies took place on 3 March as the military clawed through mud to find any survivors from the more than 300 people still missing after the massive landslides at the foot of Mount Elgon, which straddles the Uganda-Kenyan border where heavy rains are still falling.

Reports from the region suggest there is widespread flooding that has affected several other areas and in some places schools have been forced to close.

The Uganda Red Cross said the immediate needs were for non-food items, food, medicine and water purification equipment.

Cultural conflicts

The minister in charge of northern Uganda, David Wakikona, said that culture was slowing down efforts to evacuate people from dangerous areas. "In the Bagishu [the ethic group in the region] tradition, people attach a lot of importance to areas. Some people say this is the place where I did my 'Imbalu' [circumcision ceremony to mark a boy's transition to manhood] and they do not want to move easily," the minister said. "But we are telling them that they have to move and save their lives because it is still raining and we can see cracks in the ground above them or on which they live."

Some relief is on the way to the area and according to the UN Children's Agency, UNICEF, immediate priority is the provision of safe water, shelter and food while mitigating disease outbreaks among the displaced.

"A mid- to longer-term challenge will be the return of populations to original villages, due to the extent of damage. The general expectation is for resettlement in safer areas," noted Chulho Hyun, UNICEF chief of communication.

The agency had dispatched two Interagency Emergency Health Kits - each containing basic drugs and equipment to treat wounds, eye infections, diarrhoea and other diseases, for use by healthcare workers with limited training. Each kit serves up to 1,000 people for three months or 10,000 for one month.

The agency has also given the health ministry 400 Non-food Item Kits - each containing a blanket, tarpaulin, soap, cooking set and related emergency household items, including water purification/chlorination tablets and shovels.


http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/MGAE-837JWE?OpenDocument&query=uganda

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Ugandans use hand tools to dig out mud; 86 dead

Re: Ugandans use hand tools to dig out mud; 86 dead

Uganda: Eastern Uganda Landslides and Floods Situation Report #1
Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

Date: 03 Mar 2010

This report was issued by OCHA Uganda. It covers the period from 1 to 3 March 2010. The next report will be issued on or around 7 March.

I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES

- Landslides have occurred in the mountainous areas of eastern Uganda, burying three villages in Bududa District and leaving at least 80 people and over 300 missing.

- Search and rescue teams have been forced to employ shovels and hand held hoes; access constraints have prevented the deployment of more effective earth moving equipment.

- Two Government-led inter-agency assessment teams have been dispatched to the affected region targeting Bududa and Butaleja districts.



Full_Report http://ocha-gwapps1.unog.ch/rw/rwb....gent&shortid=AMMF-837N4N&file=Full_Report.pdf

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Ugandans use hand tools to dig out mud; 86 dead

Re: Ugandans use hand tools to dig out mud; 86 dead

LANDSLIDE: INTERRUPTION OF RELIEF DUE TO WEATHER
Source: Missionary International Service News Agency (MISNA)

Date: 04 Mar 2010


The rain continues unabated in the mountainous region of eastern district of Bududa, theater last Monday of a massive landslide that buried under the mud and garbage thirty villages and caused 92 casualties, according to the last record released by the Red Cross, although 400 people are still missing the call rescuers. More than 20,000 people were evacuated by security forces because of the risk of further landslides. The local Red Cross, Kevin Nabutuwa has meanwhile announced the suspension of rescue operations, already hampered in recent days by rains that made roads impassable, isolating many villages affected by major landslides . Rescuers do not have adequate equipment necessary for clearing the rubble and are forced to use household tools or digging with bare hands to find survivors. The eastern region of Bududa, located 300 kilometers east of the capital Kampala, has been for some time the scene of frequent landslides and mudslides due to the intense deforestation operated in the area of Mount Elgon. (MV / CN)
google translation of;

http://ocha-gwapps1.unog.ch/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SVAN-838RYK?OpenDocument

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Ugandans use hand tools to dig out mud; 92 dead, up to 400 still missing

Re: Ugandans use hand tools to dig out mud; 92 dead, up to 400 still missing

Uganda: Deadly landslide devastates villages despite early warnings
Source: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)

Date: 05 Mar 2010


By Anne Wanjiru, IFRC in Nairobi

What started as unusually heavy rains in Nametsi, Eastern Uganda, resulted in a catastrophic landslide that completely wiped out three villages. The Uganda Red Cross immediately deployed some 60 volunteers to respond to the disaster that caused the deaths of more than 93 people and left 265 others missing.

Only 43 survivors were rescued from the debris many of them with serious injuries such as head cuts and broken limbs.

Two years ago, the Red Cross began a sensitization campaign as part of a disaster risk reduction program, in a bid to relocate the residents of this area infamous for its landslides. Many were adamant not to leave their ancestral homeland, saying it was the only place they have known all of their lives.

"This attitude is common in disaster prone areas around the world. Post-floods agriculture often bare best harvests and people expose themselves to unnecessary risks," said Brennan Banks, a regional emergency disaster management delegate with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Nairobi. "We can not force people to relocate. So, together with the relevant authorities, we need to think of what early warnings can be put in place while reflecting on how to convince people to accept alternative settlement opportunities before such catastrophes occur."

Mapping hazards

The Red Cross hazard mapping showed that Nametsi was a high risk area for landslides and the structures there could not withstand a force of nature of such scale and magnitude as recently seen. A government report also states that commercial deforestation and land clearance for agriculture is also aggravating the situation.

The massive landslide that struck the ill-prepared communities of Nametsi, Namakansa and Kubehwo three days ago left massive destruction in its wake. About 100 school children said to have taken shelter at a local trading centre are still missing and the local health centre and church were completely wiped out.

Red Cross volunteers were first on the scene and have been working tirelessly, together with the local authorities, in an effort to rescue and evacuate victims. Hampered by bad weather and lack of adequate tools, digging through the 10 metre deep thick walls of mud and rocks has proven to be an immensely slow process.

"It is a difficult operation. We have to trek for 3 hours up the mountains to reach the site of the landslide. The area is impassable for vehicles so we cannot bring up badly needed heavy equipment. We have to do the digging by hand or using hoes which is slow and grueling," according to Hasifa Kabejja, who is on the ground with the Ugandan Red Cross.

Search and Rescue, Aid and Information

Army soldiers were deployed to assist with the rescue operations and are camping at the site. Frustrated with the slow pace of the rescue operations many of the relatives searching for their loved ones have also opted to camp at the site despite the harsh weather.

Apart from search and rescue activities, the Red Cross has been distributing relief items such as tarpaulins, blankets, cooking sets and water purification tablets to more than 1,500 affected families. However, essential household items as well as public health dissemination sessions, with specific focus on cholera and malaria controls, as well as distribution of treated mosquito nets, is still needed for more than 1,000 affected families.

Wake Up Call for Early Warning Systems

To assist the operation the IFRC has deployed 256,963 Swiss Francs from its Disaster Emergency Relief Fund (DREF), to enable the Red Cross to respond to the immediate needs of 5,000 people affected by the landslide and floods.

Heavy floods have been compounding nine districts in the region and in Northern Uganda, while some areas such as Bukwa district have been completely cut when the main road was blocked by the landslide.

"This disaster has served as a wake up call for both the Red Cross and the local authorities to quickly establish resettlement sites and evacuation procedures - and also for the 2,000 families still living in high risk areas to better heed the early warnings," said Michael Nataka, the Uganda Red Cross Secretary General.
http://ocha-gwapps1.unog.ch/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/ADGO-839T48?OpenDocument

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Ugandans use hand tools to dig out mud; 93 dead, 265 still missing

Uganda: Bududa landslides: One month down the road, what has been done?
Source: Uganda Red Cross http://www.redcrossug.org/

Date: 01 Apr 2010


Emergency Operations Update: It is one month since the landslides covered three villages in Bududa, killing about 350 people. All these are believed to be covered under the rubble. To date, the rescue team comprising of the UPDF and Uganda Red Cross Society has recovered 96 bodies. 46 people have since been rescued. 17 of the survivors are still hospitalised.

As rains continue in Eastern Uganda, the situation remains fragile and more people are to be affected by floods and landslides, according to assessment reports by the Uganda Red Cross Society.

The new cracks on Mt. Elgon in Manafwa and Bududa districts are threatening lives of 8, 586 people. These affected people need to be relocated immediately, according to URCS Secretary General Michael Richard Nataka. The affected sub counties are Mukoto (3, 252 people), Bukoho (2, 088 people), Buputo (2, 358 people) and Bumbo (888 people).

The Manafwa district disaster management committee at its March 31, 2010 meeting resolved that sensitization of communities about the threatening danger continues to enable them vacate their homes. URCS has joined the sensitization process in this regard.

The current situation in Manafwa has prompted the government and stakeholders to declare the affected areas a risk area therefore unfit for human settlement. Two sites, Magale town board ground and Namisigwa technical college in Manafwa have been identified by the district to relocate the affected community.

The URCS has pre-positioned 100 essential households at its branch offices in Bubulo to be distributed to the displaced persons of Manafwa.

In Bukwo, URCS assessments indicate that 970 people (194 households) have been reported displaced and therefore require urgent humanitarian assistance.

While addressing a media conference on the situation on ground on April 1, 2010 at the URCS Headquarters in Kampala, Nataka said with the current rains, more humanitarian interventions are needed to save lives of these now vulnerable people. He explained that URCS has distributed essential household items to 46, 789 people in Mbale, Butalejja, Tororo and Bududa. Each household kit contains; 1 tarpaulins, 2 sauce pans, 5 cups, 5 plates, 2 jerry cans, 3 bars of soap, 2 mosquito nets and 2 blankets.

The Uganda Red Cross Society is working with the Office of the Prime minister, district local governments in Bududa, Butalejja, Manafwa and other agencies to try and end the suffering of the affected people.

In Bududa, Nataka said URCS continues to manage the Bulucheke camp in Bududa which now accommodates 3, 746 people, 1, 718 of them male and 2, 028 women. The camp has 2, 118 children aged between 0-12 years.

The organisation is managing the distribution of food, essential household items and any other relief from other agencies like Office of the Prime Minister, WFP, UNICEF, Save the Children among others.

Other assorted items like woolen blankets, knickers, Vaseline, movit soap, toothpaste & toilet papers were distributed to expectant mothers & children under 5 years in Bulucheke camp.

In Bukalasi sub county Bududa district, 717 people have been registered. Those who lost relatives are 180. This brings the total beneficiary in Bukalasi temporary camp to 228 households with a population of 897.

A population of 1,111 more people have been registered as those who remained behind in Namasheti parish (5 villages) and need to be considered for humanitarian support, Nataka said.

As a way of providing shelter to the displaced people in Bulucheke camp, URCS has distributed tarpaulins to 3, 288 and 50 family tents. URCS has also provided 200 lamps for lighting in Bulucheke camp.

The Head of Operations Dr. Bildard Baguma told journalists that URCS in partnership with OXFAM and BUCADEF supported the construction of 55 pit latrines, 30 bathing shelters, rubbish pits, 2 kitchen, hand washing facilities, & drainage channels in Bulucheke camp.

He added that community hygiene promotion activities are ongoing in the camp to avert new possible outbreak of diarrhea related diseases.

A URCS ambulance is stationed 24 hours standby in Bulucheke camp to facilitate referrals especially for the expectant mothers, some of whom go in labour at night.

In Butalejja district, four Sub–Counties namely Kachonga Mazimasa Kimuntu and Nawangofu have been affected by the floods; Kachonga and Mazimasa being the most affected. 4, 778 people affected by floods in Butalejja have received tarpaulins from URCS.

Dr. Baguma who is also the Deputy Secretary General said that health education has so far been conducted to over 20, 000 people in Butaleja and Mbale district. The focus is mainly on malaria, cholera, dysentery, respiratory infections, HIV/AIDs in Bududa, Butalejja and Manafwa.

The URCS is also supporting the health care service delivery in Bududa hospital, Bulugui & Bulucheke health centres with assorted medical supplies.

In Tororo district, Paya Sub County was also severely affected by heavy rains causing damage to crops and buildings.

In the districts of Bundibugyo, Kasese, Kabarole, Kisoro, Kabale-Western Uganda, URCS has distributed essential household items to 1, 300 households.

The current major needs for Eastern Uganda operation

More 700 family tents to decongest the large tents in Bulucheke camp.

More resources to support the displaced persons and new arrivals in Manafwa.

Nutrition food for children under 5 and other extremely vulnerable people.

Mama kit for expectant mothers who give birth in the camp

In Butalejja district, there is urgent need for recovery especially in the areas of water and sanitation needs, community health, food security and shelter.

Additional sanitation facilities (pit latrines, bathing shelters) in Bulucheke camp

Psychosocial support for the affected individuals

Sanitary materials for women

The Uganda Red Cross Society continues to appeal to the public to contribute towards its revised sh5b from sh2b. The National Society is grateful to all those that have contributed in cash and in kind to this noble cause. So far sh2.2b has been in cash while over sh500m has been raised in kind.

Ends

For details, please contact

Catherine Ntabadde

SENIOR PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER

Tel: 0312-260615/6/7, 0776-312015

Email: cntabadde@redcrossug.org

Michael Richard Nataka

SECRETARY GENERAL

0776-312001

Dr. Bildard Baguma

DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL

0776-312002
http://ocha-gwapps1.unog.ch/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/SNAA-845896?OpenDocument