Flash Flood Mitigation in Uganda, Equatorial East Africa

Abstract

During the past decade, Uganda, like most African Nations, has been battered by armed conflict, AIDS/HIV pandemic, and fiscal austerity programs connected with economic reforms. In October 1997, the Nation experienced the onset of another disruptive force, the El-Nino weather phenomenon through an unusual increase in atmospheric precipitation. This resulted in abnormal torrential rains, the most destructive being the mid-November ones. Many human deaths were reported, and thousands were displaced by landslides in the mountainous and hilly areas. A lot of livestock and personal belongings also perished. More flooding increased the risk to the Cholera epidemic. The havoc done to infrastructures such as roads, bridges, schools, and health units as well as peoples’ houses, was placed at billions of Uganda shillings. Hundreds of acres of food and cash crops were destroyed by floods and land slides, leading to an increase in social, economic, and environmental vulnerability. The severe droughts, progressive land degradation, and desertification plus devastating storms were attributed to El-Nino. Damage to shelter and reduced food and water supplies encouraged more waterborne diseases and malnutrition to spread.