Landslides kill at least 29 in Uganda

Landslides triggered by heavy rains in eastern Uganda killed at least 29 people Monday as mud submerged homes and entire families, officials said. "The total figure for the dead is 29," Musa Ecweru, the state minister for disaster preparedness told AFP, updating an earlier toll of 23 given by the Red Cross. "There are so many teams working there, including the army, Red Cross and technical teams from the ministries," he added. Earlier, Red Cross spokeswoman Catherine Ntabadde told AFP their workers and local residents had recovered at least 15 bodies in Mabono village in Bulambuli district, about 270 kilometres (170 miles) northeast of Kampala. She said that two people were rescued, but eight others died in a nearby village and warned that the death could rise. "We are still working and the figure could rise," Ntabadde said. The Red Cross said heavy equipment was needed to clear the avalanche of mud as the landslide had engulfed hundreds of homes, but added that an assessment was underway to establish the exact figure. Recent heavy rains in eastern Uganda have also caused flooding and displaced hundreds of families in the region. Earlier this month, at least seven people were killed in a landslide in a village in northeastern Uganda. In one of the worst natural disasters to hit the east African region in years, some 350 people were killed last year when a mudslide swept through a village in the country's eastern Mount Elgon region. The Mount Elgon region that straddles Kenya and Uganda often receives high rainfall which can devastate villages on the mountain slopes. Some parts of Uganda are however currently hit by a severe drought that has put some 12 million people in the Horn of Africa in danger of starvation.