Child killed as mudslide hits kitchen in Kabarole district
KABAROLE – A mudslide has hit a kitchen in Kabango village in Karangura Sub-county Kabarole district, killing a one-and-a-half-year-old child and leaving another injured.
The incident happened on Sunday night after a heavy downpour a week earlier that left soils in the area prone to mudslides.
According to the father of the children, Charles Muhindo Katomera, he and his wife were not at home at the time the mudslide happened.
“The mudslide hit the kitchen where my children were having their supper,” he said.
The deceased was identified as Salim Thembo one and a half years and the injured as Azida Mbambu, 4 years while the other two were not injured at all.
Muhindo said some days ago there were two incidents of minor landslides near his house.
The district woman councilor representing Karangura Sub-county, Alex Kyakimwa, said the eldest brother tried to rescue both of the children as he made an alarm for help from the area residents.
She noted that poor methods of farming in the area are fueling such incidents of mudslides and that people have constructed houses in dangerous areas where they can easily be hit by landslides.
“I advise people to always consult technical people before they construct their houses to avoid being hit by disasters. I also call upon the public to plant trees and practice good farming methods,” she said.
The Kabarole district environment officer, Fred Muhanuuzi said the nature of the land in the area supports landslides when it rains and even if the rains have ended because the water would be logged in.
He said the soils are susceptible to landslides and therefore mitigation measures are needed.
He said the best way would be for people to vacate the area, even though he said they have nowhere to go.
“The first mitigation measure we are looking at is emphasising tree planting such that we stop soil erosion. When we plant trees, they will reduce the speed of the runoff as rains will first fall on tree leaves before landing on the bare soils,” Muhanuuzi said.
He discouraged people from carrying out poor methods of farming and deforestation, urging them to instead practice terracing and mulching.
“This place is good for coffee and so I would encourage our people to plant the crop. It’s good that some people have planted the coffee and others are being sensitised. Seedlings are always provided,” he noted.
He however warned residents against letting children play in risky areas. He further encouraged them to plant grass and maintains them.
The Kabarole Resident District Commissioner [RDC], Festus Bandeeba said he observed that in areas where people have planted coffee, there is less soil erosion because the plant holds the soil.
He said people need to improve their approach to cultivation and practice terracing.
“Some houses in the area are constructed in very dangerous terrain and God forbid, they could face a disaster. We are going to address this with the farmers to see how they must be relocated,” he said.
He urged local leaders to regularly monitor the area to identify any danger and advise people accordingly.
With an altitude of 1,904 metres above sea level, Kabango village is one of the hard-to-reach areas in Karangura Sub-county in Kabarole district.
The area is extremely very steep with steep slopes where landslides will not stop if mitigation measures are not taken into action.
Among the human activities taking place in this hilly sub-county include sand mining, stone quarrying, and cultivation which are dangerous to the environment.
Due to the nature of the terrain, experts have advised terracing and afforestation to mitigate climate change effects.
Experts have warned the general public about the heavy rains and appealed to them to be alert.
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