Flooding in Kampala capital of Uganda has claimed at least 5 lives, the Red Cross says, as the country reels from weeks of rain every day.
Rescuers have been recovering the bodies of victims swept to their deaths around Kampala especially Nakivubo channel by the flash floods in the city and surrounding suburbs and towns, the aid group said.
Homes have been washed away and a number of roads blocked or destroyed.
Uganda police force marine department is also mourning after one of their experienced officers one SGT Mwondha drowned and died in the floods at around Kyambogo on Jinja road during Saturday heavy down pour.
Kampala police metropolitan spokesperson SP Patrick Onyango confirmed the unfortunate incident. ’We lost a comrade but we shall work with city authorities and government to see that next time all water channels are opened for easy flow of such flooded waters”he said.
Of pass days,floods have cut of the areas of Jinja road,Bugolobi,Nateete,Namasuba and Zana on Entebbe and in neighborhood.
The events have been linked to an unusual weather phenomenon in the Indian Ocean,
Heavy rain has been battering the country for weeks, and intensified overnight on Friday into Saturday.
Police, military, aid agencies and community members are assisting with search and rescue operations in more than a dozen affected areas.
Rain is hampering communications in the locations in the remote west of the country, BBC news agency reported.
Last week landslides caused by heavy rain claimed a number of lives in the east of the country.
Uganda’s disaster management agency has advised people not to walk, ride or drive across any flooded roads or bridges, and to keep away from river banks and steep slopes.
