Lake Albert floods displace 150 families in Pakwach
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By IBRAHIM ADUBANGO
More than 150 families in Dei A Village, Panyimur Sub-county in Pakwach District are homeless after their houses were submerged following the rising water levels of Lake Albert.
Mr Nicholas Opar, the village chairperson, said the floods destroyed several houses and washed away crops.
The most affected communities are mainly fishermen from Singla Market, Kayonga and Wangkado in Panyimur Sub-county.
Mr Opar said most of the affected families were temporarily hosted by their relatives while others have sought refuge in nearby government primary schools.
“We are living in fear and anticipate a possible cholera and typhoid outbreak among others that may affect the community who live near the Nile and have occasionally been using the lake as their water source for domestic purposes,” he said.
Mr Shaban Ofoy, the sub-county chairperson, said the situation could create a food crisis in the area.
“We anticipate hunger because huge acres of gardens with crops were washed away,” Mr Kinobe said. He said they had previously warned the communities against settling in the wetlands but they have been hesitant to adhere to the directives because they had no place to relocate to.
Mr Robert Omito, the district chairperson, appealed to government and well-wishers for relief.
“We have notified the [Ministry] of Relief, Disaster and Preparedness, and Uganda Red Cross regional office to assess the level of devastation and come to our rescue urgently and attend to the village,” Mr Omito said.
He added that said since most of the affected families mainly rely on fishing as source of their livelihood, there is urgent need of relief supplies such as food, tents and blankets to temporarily settle the affected families.
Recurrent
In December last year, floods cut off Pakwach-Karuma road, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. The Uganda National Meteorology Authority, in its “seasonal rainfall outlook for March to May 2020,” warned that there would be an overall increased likelihood of near normal to above normal (wetter than average) rainfall in several parts of the country. Floods have also ravaged other districts, including Kasese, Ntoroko, Bundibugyo, Kabale, Ntungamo and Isingiro.