Uganda. Dec 11, 2024
Balyogera Aggrey,Memuna Mohammad
Source:Butty, J. (2012). Uganda Begins Search for Landslide Victims. Mbale:
Voannews.
SUMMARY
Landslides have been a major challenge for the people living in Budduda, in Eastern part of Uganda. Over years many people have lost their lives due to landslides. This happens majorly during rainy seasons.
BACKGROUND
It was noted that three villages in the mountainous district of Bududa in Eastern Uganda were destroyed by landslides induced by torrential rain, killing hundreds of people (Kampala, 2012). A landslide is a downslope gravitational movement of a mass of earth or rock as a unit owing to failure of the material (Jamba, 2017). Landslides are a natural phenomenon and a normal feature of landscapes experiencing dissections, but their magnitude, frequency and geographical distribution have been considerably modified in recent years by human intensions (Jamba, 2017). Bududa district is located in the eastern region of Uganda, bordering Mbale in the West and Manafwa in the South. The districts of Sironko, Bulambuli and Kween in the North. Bududa district lies at an average of 1800m above sea level on the slopes of Mt Elgonin eastern Uganda. The scenery is characterised by stand-alone volcanic cones, interlocking spurs V-shaped valleys and ridges-both gently undulating and rugged. In Bududa district three lithologies can be distinguished and these are the Butiriku carbonitite covering the central part which corresponds with the sub-county of Bukigai, a zone of fenitised basement rocks of Precambrian age surrounding this central carbonatite outcrop and third zone with mountain Elgon agglomerates and tuffs situated in the north east of Bududa district. These highly weathered rocks are composed of extremely fine pyro clasps of potash feldspar and are referred to as potash ultra-fenites (al, 2022). The district experiences bi-modal type of rainfall with the highest coming in the first season of March to June and the second in the months of September to November. The average rainfall is 1800mm per annum. This very high rainfall is supportive of intensive agriculture which forms the backbone of the district economy. On the other hand, the too much rain has resulted to floods and landslides which have affected that community negatively as follow; Death of people It was reported in 2019 that over 30 people died in Bududa landslides (Monitor, 2019). Every time landslides occur, some of the affected people die in the process. This reduces the population of the area hence reduced economic development in the long region. Displacement of people People who have affected by landslides have been allocated new settlement areas. This negatively affected their ways of living since they need to adopt to the weather conditions of the new area. Also they face a challenge of finding resources and basic needs such as homes and food in their new settlement areas. It’s advisable for the government to find a permanent solution the landslides since it has become a major challenge to Budduda people. Many people are continuously losing their lives in the region due to landslides. One of the possible solution is allocating those people a new settlement area and providing them with start-up basic needs such as seeds, housing and water sources.
REFERENCES
al, L. B. (2022). Lanslides Mapping and Designof loT-basedSuscepibility Prediction System: A Case Study of Bududa District in Uganda. Researc Square. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358950346_Landslides_Mapping_and_Design_of_IoT-based_Susceptibility_Prediction_System_A_Case_Study_of_Bududa_District_in_Uganda Butty, J. (2012). Uganda Begins Search for Landslide Victims. Mbale: Voannews. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rQ_29GY_sS--06IK2Up0lwu Jamba. (2017). Enhancing resilience to landslide disaster risks through rehabilitation of slide scars by local communities in Mt Elgon, Uganda. PubMed Central, 390. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/26/uganda-landslides-dead-villages-destroyed Monitor. (2019). Over 30 people feared dead in fresh Bududa mudslide. Monitor. https://www.monitor.co.ug
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