Published : Aug. 31, 2011 - 19:51
KAMPALA (AP) ― An official says the death toll has risen to 40 from landslides that buried homes in an eastern district of Uganda.
Relatives mourn for their loved ones who died in landslides in Gombe village in the Bulambuli district, 267 kilometers east of Kampala on Tuesday. (AP-Yonhap News)
Regional information officer Ken Mabisi said Tuesday the Red Cross and other volunteers are still digging for bodies in the Bulambuli district. He says the Red Cross has also started distributing essential household items to some surrounding communities whose crops and houses were destroyed by Monday’s landslides.
The government on Monday said 29 people were killed.
The landslides followed heavy rainfall in the Bulambuli district, 267 kilometers east of Kampala.
Last year over 300 people were killed by landslides in Bududa district in the eastern region of Uganda.
Two weeks ago seven people were killed by landslides in Uganda’s northeastern Karamoja region.