Red Cross confirmed 16 dead in Uganda floods.
Torrential rain falls in Uganda has left over 16 persons dead with some homes washed away with a good number of road blocked and or destroyed.
A phenomenon which has been linked with the unusual weather phenomenon in the Indian Ocean which has also affected a large part of east Africa with floods and landslides recorded in the past few weeks leaving hundreds dead while others have been displaced.
Irene Nakasiita, a Red Cross spokeswoman, said on Sunday that “Red Cross volunteers have been deployed to start on the house to house needs assessment and registration to establish needs of the people”.
Rescuers have been recovering the bodies of victims swept to their deaths by the flash floods in the western Bundibugyo area, they added with a lot of persons still uncounted for.
The police and military and community members have all been said to have joined the rescue efforts with communication made difficult by the persistent rains while the Ugandan disaster management agency has warned people to stay off river banks, steeps and slopes as well as flooded roads.
Uganda has been badly affected by flood throughout November and December, along with Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Tanzania, Somalia and South Sudan.
How about Somalia?
Somalia’s north-eastern Puntland state had been bracing for Cyclone Pawan, which was downgraded to a storm before it made landfall in an area already suffering the impact of recent high winds and flooding.
At least one person is reported to have died after a fishing boat capsized, while in the Eyl area, a child was reported to have died from exposure after houses and livestock were washed away.
BBC Africa correspondent Ann Soy says it appears most people had fled or been evacuated from Eyl, a small coastal city, but buildings were destroyed and communications infrastructure was damaged.
Some roads in Puntland have been destroyed making transport difficult. Flights into and out of Gorowe were suspended all of Saturday, but they have now resumed.
There are numerous reports of loss of livestock to floods in villages, something that threatens the livelihoods of local communities, our correspondent adds(From BBC)
