Trail of destructions as rain ravaged Zombo

By mike rwothomio

The pounding rain that battered Abanga sub county in Zombo district has left an unbearable trail of destruction on the communities.

The July 8, afternoon driving rain decimated crops like beans, coffee, maize, cassava, matooke, kitchen garden plants amongst others plunging farmers into a total state of bother with possibility of looming famine.

The affected villages amongst others include Pakadha trading center, alengu, Malara, Uduk, Odarlembe, Gira, Alicudu, Nyoka.

The LCIII chairperson of Abanga sub county Richard Awekunimungu recounted how the 12 villages from four parishes have been greatly affected, appealling  for support from the district disaster management committee and well-wishers expressing fear of looming famine

Awekunimungu who rallied farmers to ensure they plant tree  to act as wind breaks also appreciated Uganda red cross society for responding swiftly to ascertain the magnitude of the destruction for further assistance.

 “Yesterday in the evening, we were really affected by hailstorm, it destroyed crops like beans, coffee, maize, cassava, avocado, greens planted in kitchen gardens, I appeal to the district authority to come and give support to this people because I see my people in danger of famine. I appreciate the team from red cross for responding so swift to come and survey the area.” Awekunimungu told this Publication in an interview  

 Terensio Openji, a resident of Abongu village said the situation is absolutely dire predicting famine as he appealed for assistance from the district disaster management committee.

This destruction is coming at a time when the region has been experiencing a scotching prolonged sunshine that extended the first planting season.

Meanwhile the LCV chairperson of Zombo James Oruna Oyullu in an interview confirmed having received the news about the destruction noting that “we have sent our technical team to go and do assessment of what happened”.

Early this year, the devastating rain with hailstorm also left a trail of destruction in Zeu and Alangi sub counties, decimating food crops and de roofing permanent and semi-permanent structures.

The destruction is coming at a time when locals and leaders have been repeatedly calling for increased budget for disaster management committee given the uptick in disaster occurrences in the area.

However, many environmental experts in the area say human activities like deforestation to a larger extent is exacerbating the devastating impact of climate change