THE CURSE OF NATURE

KAREN:

Nature can be so beautiful, nature can be so ugly. Nature can cause so much pleasure, nature can cause so much pain. On the evening of Monday 1st March 2010, tragedy struck Eastern Uganda when a landslide caused multiple deaths destroying four villages in the county of Bududa. Many people were buried alive as rocks, mud, stone, and water thundered down the foot hills of Mount Elgon submerging buildings, schools, health centres, and entire communities.

Stories and images of devastation dominate the news here in Uganda as a humanitarian emergency has been declared. Over 350 people are feared dead along with hundreds of livestock. Rescue efforts have been coordinated by the Uganda Government with the support of the military and humanitarian aid agencies. One week on and only 31 survivors have been rescued from the rubble and 89 bodies exhumed after disaster response teams and locals alike have been using hoes, pick axes, spades, and even their bare hands to dig in over 3.3 square kilometers of flattened terrain.

The 200m wide avalanche of mud and debris was triggered by endless days of downpours, more typical of the cool wet season, not the hot dry season that Uganda should be experiencing at this time of year. The affected villages of Nametsi, Kubehwo, Liira, and Matuwa have been declared disaster zones. Flooding due to the above average rain falls, is causing further problems in these regions of devastation. Over 1000 people in these villages have been made homeless. A total of 4000 people living in mud-slide prone areas have been advised and encouraged to evacuate their homes and seek refuge in temporary relief camps or in nearby villages. Oxfam, The World Food Programme, Save The Children, and UNICEF are amongst the aid agencies involved in distributing food, clean water, cooking utensils, blankets, and essential medical supplies to the people seeking refuge in the internally displaces peoples (IDP) camps. Medical teams have been flown in from Kampala, the country capital, reinforced by medical staff from nearby Mbale Hospital.

And with the flooding comes further misery in the form of water-borne infections and diseases from unearthed decomposing bodies. 80 cases of cholera have been confirmed in a neighbouring district - an acute intestinal disease caused by consumption of contaminated food and water which causes severe diarrhoea and dehydration. Minus prompt treatment, cholera can result in death. The concentration of people living in the IDP camps and temporary shelters can greatly increase the risk of disease exposure and transmission from over-crowding and utilisation of basic sanitation facilities. Aid organisations have been working hard to disseminate water purification packs in a bit to halt the introduction and spread of the disease and prevent the outbreak of an epidemic, with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at the ready to treat 1000 cases should the need arise.

Although efforts to retrieve the bodies from the rubble continue, it is expected that President Museveni will declare an end to the search operation in the next day or two as chances of recovering bodies grows increasingly slim and excavation poses further public health risks. Not an easy decision when villagers so desperately want to provide the dead with a ceremonial and respectful burial.

Whilst response efforts are primarily focusing on immediate interventions in the aftermath of the landslide, longer term re-development planning is not being forgotten. In the proposed 5 year re-development programme buildings will be established to continue the education of the survivors of the 374 children in the affected areas. Homesteads will be constructed in safe locations. Land will be cultivated to replant the 792 hectares of damaged crops, predominantly consisting of maize, vegetables, cassava, banana and sweet potato, thereby contributing to future food security. Livestock will be replaced to compensate for the lost animals including 176 cows, 50 goats and 2000 chickens- essential sources of income and food for people in developing countries. Plumbing of water pipelines to the affected villages will be reconstructed, as well as sanitation and road infrastructures.

Living here in Uganda, it is difficult to know how far news of such a tragedy has spread to the outside world. And it is even more difficult to learn how such a tragedy has inflicted suffering in a country that has captured our hearts and that we have come to call "home" causing such loss to people and communities that already have so little.

Sadly the rain continues to fall...