Thousands moved away from Uganda mudslide villages

Ugandan authorities yesterday moved thousands of villagers away from hillsides where a mudslide this week left more than 300 people feared dead, officials said.

Authorities said they feared more heavy rain could trigger a new disaster and launched an urgent relocation of some 4,000 villagers around Mount Elgon in the east of the country. Up to 35,000 people could eventually be moved.

"We are looking at 4,000 as the urgent number we need to relocate," said Wilson Watira, district chairman of Bududa, the main town near villages engulfed by Monday's avalanche.

In the "longer term" up to 35,000 may need to move, he said.

Entire villages were buried, roads cut off and floods ravaged villages after days of downpours loosened soil and sent a wall of earth down the slopes.

"All road transport stops seven kilometres away from the scene and people have to walk that distance uphill on muddy slippery paths crossing already shaken makeshift bridges," the prime minister's office said in a statement.

It also warned of the risk of cholera and malaria outbreaks.

Some 300 people are feared dead after the mudslide that submerged three villages on the slopes of Mount Elgon. More than 80 bodies have been retrieved.

However, some residents were reluctant to leave the area despite the risks.

More downpours are predicted in the region. "The rains are expected to intensify with the main peak around early April," the environment ministry said in a statement.