More than 5,600 displaced and 400,000 left without clean water after heavy rain causes two rivers to burst banks
At least 24 people have died and more than 5,600 people have been displaced by flash flooding in easternTwo rivers burst their banks after heavy rainfall swept through the city of Mbale over the weekend, submerging homes, shops and roads, and uprooting water pipes. About 400,000 people have been left without clean water, and more than 2,000 hectares of crops have been destroyed.“The situation is very serious,” said Edward Simiyu, of Mercy Corps Uganda.
Three health centres in Mbale were damaged and many people have had to travel up to 60 miles to find the closest hospital.Photograph: Badru Katumba/AFP/Getty Images The government has deployed emergency supplies and is working with humanitarian aid agencies to provide temporary shelters, but teams on the ground said they were stretched.
“Many have lost everything and have had barely anything to eat over the last few days. There are small children who don’t have a change of clothes and many families are still looking for their loved ones,” said Joseph Ssenkumba, of the Association of Ambulance Professionals Uganda. Simiyu said the flooding was unprecedented. “We believe that this is being fuelled by climate change because we’ve had heavy rains before but not to this scale,” he said.
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