By: CAO-Kasese

From E-Society

Since Kasese District was again hit by yet another disastrous flood exactly one year and a week after the recent floods of 1st May 2013 This flood occurred at 10.00am of 8th May 2014 and had the same characteristics of bursting the river banks, at exactly the same weak points as in the 1st May 2013 flood. The first river to burst its banks was river Nyamwamba flooding into Bulembya Primary School, Kilembe Mines offices, Kyanjuki-Katiri newly constructed tarmac road, Kanyaruboga area and finally Kilembe Mines Hospital was equally affected right from the hind face in the area of the already destroyed nurses’ quarters. The floods were so intense that patients and medical workers had to run for their dear lives. However water didn’t make considerable damage to Hospital facilities.

The Nyamwamba floods were followed by spontaneous flush flood floods caused by rivers Nyamugasani in Kyarumba, Kyondo and Kisinga. As if that was not enough, other rivers including river Mubuku in Maliba, Bugoye and Karusandara Sub-counties have been reported to have also burst their banks

Extent of damage to property and life

· Lost one old woman aged 77 years – Lucia Bwongerize of Ibanda–Bugoye S/county.

· Two babies of 2 and 4 days old respectively.

· A total of 603 households have had their domestic property destroyed and displaced but living with host families.

Details are shown in the table below

S/n.	Sub County	Village	No. of H/Hs Displaced
1.	Bulembia Division	Kanyaruboga	206
		Katiri	234
		Road Barrier	03
		Bulembia	41
2.	Central Division	Saluti B	90
3.	Nyamwamba Division	Nyakasanga west	19
4.	Karusamdara	Kanamba	07
	Kyarumba	Kyarumba	03
	Total		603

Source: Rapid assessment team led by URC society-Kasese as at 9^th May 2014

· Masule and Kyanzuki makeshift timber foot bridges washed away

· Two classroom blocks of Bulembia primary school destroyed and furniture and all text books washed away with the collapsed block. Other classroom blocks are on the verge of collapsing with continued down pour.

· 3 office blocks for Kilembe Mines/TIBET Hima offices destroyed with furniture and classified official documents/files.

· Unspecified number of electric poles with transmission wires washed away causing power disruption.

· Newly refurbished tarmac road washed away

· Water pipes and the general and drainage systems washed away

· Bridge connecting Kilembe Mines offices and the site 45 underground tunnels weakened and made impassable

· Katiri Primary school and the Katiri Catholic Nursery School submerged with furniture and classified text books destroyed

· The Katiri Catholic Church flooded with walls weakened

· 1 km section of the Kabirizi-Kyarumba road destroyed and made impassable

· Community makeshift timber foot bridge connecting Kyarumba and Kyondo Sub Counties washed away

· Unspecified acreage under crop in Kyarumba sub county submerged and others washed away

Emergency interventions made

· Identification and Assembling of the Rapid Assessment and Response Team in all the affected areas

· Identification and Assembling of the available Resources like ambulances, fire fighting trucks, lorries and other relevant equipments

· Evacuated 195 in patients from Kilembe Hospital to other Health facilities like st, Paul, Bishop Masereka, Kasese Municipal Health Centre iii, Kagando Hospital and Buhinga Hospital in Kabarole and temporarily suspended/closed the Hospital.

· Made follow up visits on the patients evacuated to ascertain their situation and offer care and support

· Offering precautionary messages to the river – adjacent communities.

· Held joint emergency disaster policy/Technical committee meetings aimed at charting the way forward and agreeing on the action plan.

· Compiled a tentative rapid needs assessment/status report and disseminated it to Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) and partners which include Hima Cement Ltd, UNICEF, FURA, Kasese Nail and Wood, Uganda Red Cross Society, UNDP, Line Ministries, NEMA, UWA, TIBETI Hima, Kilembe Mines Ltd, Save the Children, World Vision International and the Media

· Reached out to partners like Hima Cement Ltd and acquired the excavator to help in de-silting/dredging and training of the river course

· Sensitized river bank adjacent communities on emergency relocation

· Constituted and operationalized a District emergency operational and coordination centre (DECOC) Headed by the DPC to ensure high level security, ferry clean water in the disaster area and also keep monitoring the water levels in collaboration with Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA)

Resources so far mobilised and Received

S/n.	Partner	Resource type	Number/amount	Status
1.	Kasese M. Council	Fuel	4,000,000	Yet to be received
2.	Hima Cement Ltd.	Excavator with its crew/operators	1	Received
2.	Hima Cement Ltd.	Fuel (Diesel)	400 ltrs	Received
3	TIBETI-Hima	Fuel (Diesel)	2,000 ltrs	Pledged
4.	OPM	Empty plastic Jerrycans	400	Received but still in URCS stores
		Plastic Basins	400	Received but still in URCS stores
5.	URC Society	Empty plastic Jerrycans	200	Received but still in URCS stores
		Aluminium plates	1,000	Received but still in URCS stores
		Tarpaulins	400	Received but still in URCS stores
		Aluminium cups	1,000	Received but still in URCS stores
		Blankets	400	Received but still in URCS stores
		Cooking pots/pans	400	Received but still in URCS stores
6.	UNICEF	Assorted non food items	Assorted	Yet to be received

Threats

1. Existing weak points along the river Nyamwamba Channel which still pause a serious risk

· Kyanzuki P. School

· Royal Ranges SS

· Kilembe Mines water plant

· Bulembia P. School

· Site 45 Bridge (connecting Kilembe Mines offices and the site 45)

· Kanyaruboga

· Katiri Bridge

· Site behind Kilembe Hospital

· Road Barrier P. School

2. Collapsed power lines

3. Bunyandiko Gravity Flow Scheme source

4. Merging Rivers in Kyarumba (Nyamughasani and Nyamuruseghe)

Challenges

· Continuous rainfall

· Inadequate logistics/equipment

· Inadequate food and non food items

· Inadequate and delayed implementation of the post disaster recovery workplan

· People hesitant to relocate from the disaster prone area

Immediate interventions/Way forward

· Distribution of the available relief items (food and non food items)

· Make a strong voice to the Central Government including Office of the President to address the root causes of the floods and put in place disaster risk reduction measures

· Lobby for support from partners

· Explore mechanisms of evacuating adamant community members still staying in the disaster risk/prone areas in particular Kilembe valley

· Assorted Medicines and supplies

· Further enhance river channel de-silting, dredging and training

· Install gabions at weak/dangerous points

· Strengthen collaboration/coordination with partners

· Explore mechanisms of information dissemination/management-sources of information

· We may consider re-opening or temporarily close until the floods subsidize.

Short and Long Term Interventions

· Construction of flood walls

· Artificial levees

· Routine De silting of the river channels