Floods worry everyone in eastern and northern Uganda

The onset of the rain season in April was warmly welcome, following a long drought. However this happiness became short-lived as the rains continued without any break to allow for the harvest of crops. Since then, northern Uganda has received prolonged heavy rains that have started raising worries among the people. Normally Uganda receives rainfall from March to June and from mid-August to November, but this year, it has been abnormally raining since April. Although the most hit region is eastern Uganda, where floods have claimed some lives and affected greatly both agricultural and economic activities, northern Uganda has also started experiencing adverse effects of the torrential rains.

Crops rotting in the garden, limited movement, soil erosion and lightning striking people to death are some of the problems currently suffered as a result the rains. But the long-term affects, such as famine and diseases, are yet to claim more lives if no quick intervention is made. Eastern and northern regions being flat areas, water movement is slow.

Luckily Gulu district has not yet had the kind of flooding that is being experienced in eastern Uganda. However, during one of our recent family visits in the neighbouring districts, to investigate on children referred to us for admission into the village, we came across bridges that were washed away, making many areas inaccessible. We courageously took longer routes of over 100km to travel a distance of less than 30km. Worse still, the roads we took were so muddy, so potholed and so flooded with running water that we drove through with difficulty at a snail pace, thanks to our four-wheel Land Cruiser. Even the only tarmac road from Kampala to northern Uganda has been so terribly damaged that it now takes 6 hours instead of 3 ½ hours. Depressing is the news that experts have predicted heavier rains to continue up to end of November. If this turns out to be true, then we shall be faced with the worst ever floods, something that has only been heard of happening in Asia.