Uganda: Seven Family Members Feared Dead After Deadly Landslides

At least seven family members are feared dead after landslides buried a home in Bumasugu Village, Buluganya Sub County in the eastern Uganda district of Bulambuli on Thursday.

Bulambuli Resident District Commissioner (RDC) Stanley Bayole verified the incident, stating that the landslide destroyed the family's home.

"We are getting a grader to excavate and ascertain the exact death toll but the information we have indicates that there were seven family members in the house at the time it was buried," he told the Monitor, a Ugandan local news outlet. 

Locals discovered one corpse immediately after the rain stopped, according to Bulambuli District vice chairperson Mark Barasa.

"One person has been confirmed dead, but there was a mother and her children inside the house."

"We're still waiting for the grader," he said.

The nighttime landslide caused by rain also destroyed crops and livestock. 

According to Barasa, local authorities have repeatedly requested that the government consider transferring residents living in high-risk parts of the district, but officials have remained deafeningly silent.

"We have families that are living in landslide-prone areas that need to be relocated to safer areas, especially in this rainy season," he urged.

James Nabende, a local, disclosed that 10 displaced persons have begun finding refuge at the adjacent Masugu Primary School.

"The people that neighbour the buried house have also moved away from their homes in fear and are now at the school," he said.

"They knew they were headed for trouble because the rains lasted over 8 hours without ceasing."