More than 300 people have been displaced after floods caused by heavy rains continued to submerge households in Adjumani district. Over the past two days, heavy rains in the area have left more than 340 households displaced and over 500 acres of crop gardens destroyed after the river Tete burst its banks on Thursday.
Most houses and crops have been flooded in Ogolo North and South in Liri parish, Elegu Central and Melekwe in Elegu parish in Arinyapi sub-county, and Ogolo North and South in Liri parish.
Floods have made it impossible for people to get to the Ogolo health centre II, which serves about 300 households. As a result, services have been stopped there.
Justine Amizaru Luga, a resident of Ogolo North in Liri parish, says that his sim, rice, and sorghum crops that were nearing harvest have all been submerged.
“I spent a lot of money to dig, plant, and wed, but now I don’t know if I will harvest anything,” Amizaru said.
Joseph Moigo is another farmer in Ogolo North who was hurt. He says he lost about 10 acres of crops, and he is afraid he will go hungry.
Right now I have nothing after all that I planted has been submerged. “We are likely experiencing famine here,” Moigo noted.
Dominic Seseseko, the LCIII Chairperson of Arinyapi Sub-county, says that the floods destroyed crops like rice, sorghum, cassava, simsim, sweet potatoes, and beans. According to Seseseko, several pit latrines have also been washed away by the floods and could trigger waterborne diseases like cholera and diarrhea.
William Leslie Amanzuru, an environmentalist in the district, says that more people living in the river Tete catchment areas caused the disaster.
Ben Anyama, who is the LCV Chairperson of the Adjumani district, says that a team from the disaster management committee has been sent to the affected areas to assess the damage caused by the floods and report back to the Office of the Prime Minister.
Anyama said that they have also started to teach the people in the community not to live in the lowlands so that they don’t get hurt by the floods.
Around 25,000 refugees from Alere and Oliji refugee settlements in Oliji Parish in Pachara Sub-county had trouble getting to social services earlier this month because Oliji Bridge was washed away by heavy rain.
