No fewer than nine people have been confirmed dead and many more declared missing following massive flooding in the eastern Ugandan city of Mbale weeks after two rivers burst their banks, leaving a trail of destruction, officials disclosed on Monday.
According to reports coming in from the East African country, Police and the military have been called in to help in the search and rescue operations currently going on in Mbale, where stranded residents could only watch helplessly as their belongings were washed away by the floodwaters.
Mbale City resident commissioner Ahamada Waashaki told reporters in an interview on Sunday that nine bodies had been recovered so far, including one of a soldier.
‘Many more people are missing and feared dead,’ he said.
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‘Police and military marine forces will be coming to help in the rescue and search for dead bodies as we provide relief to the affected population,’ her office said.
Two local reporters told reporters they had seen bodies floating in the muddy brown floodwaters before being removed by police.
Several cars were also washed away, along with household goods and personal items as residents moved to higher ground for safety.
‘In the past, we experienced flooding but not the level of lives lost and destruction of property seen this time,’ Waashaki said.
Africa Today News, New York reports that several cases of massive floods has been reported around the world in the last two months following torrential rains that appears not to be slowing down any time soon.
In a related development, the Governor of Kentucky announced yesterday that 25 people have died as a result of devastating floods, and that number is certain to climb as rescuers and locals resumed their gruelling search for survivors.
Africa Today News, New York reports that in 13 counties in eastern Kentucky, torrential rain earlier this week led to severe flash floods.
Finding survivors is challenging because cell phone service has been hampered in that mountainous area, which has been heavily struck by grinding poverty as the coal sector fades.