Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kampala (Agenzia Fides) – More than 80 are dead and 400 are missing according to an initial report on the landslide caused by heavy rains that fell in Uganda, in the District of Bududa, on the slopes of Mount Elgon located on the border with Kenya. According to the Chancellor of the Diocese of Tororo, Monsignor Joseph Kamiza, contacted by the Fides, the parish church of Bududa, which is located outside the center of the village was not hit, however a mission station was destroyed. The landslide involved three villages. The disaster occurred on March 1, after several hours of heavy rain. Most of the victims were students of the primary and secondary school of the village of Nametsi, who had taken refuge at a shopping center and a health center that were hit by the landslide from Mount Elgon. The population is digging out victims with their bare hands and with rudimentary tools, while the Army has sent in hundreds of soldiers. The delivery of aid, however, is hindered by the terrain which does not allow access for heavy vehicles. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 3/3/2010)
