New wave of floods leaves thousands displaced in Nakasongola

Nakasongola, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  More than 1,000 people in Lwampanga Town Council district have been displaced by another wave of flooding on the shoreline of Lake Kyoga in Nakasongola district. The water has submerged houses in Lwampanga, Kisenyi and Kabasombwa villages located in Lwampanga town council.

The rising waters which have also cut off roads, blocking access to Lwampanga R/C Primary School and several homes in the neighbourhood. Several toilets have also been submerged creating a sanitation crisis in the area.

James Basigala, the LCI Chairman of Kisenyi village, whose house has been submerged by rising water leaving him and other 14 family members with no shelter, says that he has since rented another house where he is temporarily hosting the family with the hope that the water will soon come down.

Shamim Naluyulu, a resident of Kisenyi village says that she is currently stuck in the cold after the water submerged her house leaving her and three children with nowhere to go. Rising water levels displaced at least 1,614 households in May this year. 

Some of the affected residents are still held in camps located in Nabiswera and Lwampanga sub-county after they were evicted from schools to pave a way for candidate classes to resume operations.  Others had since returned to the houses only to be hit by a second wave of floods.

Mariam Nabutaka, the District Councillor for Lwampanga sub-county says that with the ongoing rains, many people who stay near Lake Kyoga are likely to be displaced. She asked the office of the Prime Minister to speed up the process of relocating the persons to safer areas.

Nabutaka explains that in May this year, the district identified land at Kyarubanga Forest Reserve where they intended to relocate all persons affected by water. But this plan is yet to be effected over lack of resources from the Office of Prime Minister.

A week ago, Nakasongola District Chairman Sam Kigula told URN that he petitioned the Office of Prime Minister to speed up the process of relocating the victims to the proposed Kyarubanga Forest Reserve site. However, consultations on the matter were still ongoing.

In May the  Ministry of Water and Environment warned that Lake Kyoga is projected to exceed the highest historical level of 13.2 meters and as such shorelines, swamps and flood plains would experience high water levels. The Ministry ordered people who encroached on the shoreline to leave in vain.

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URN