Over 1,000 People Homeless as Floods Devastate Kapelebyong

More than 1,000 households have been displaced as floods ravaged Kapelebyong District.

The worst-hit areas are the six villages of Kobatum, Oburiateng, Ajeesai, Acanga, Amero and Oitu- all in Acowa Sub County, which were submerged after a heavy downpour that hit the area last week.  Several residents in the affected villages have now relocated to areas outside Acowa Sub County.

Tom Francis Okot, a resident of Acanga says his family lost three hectares of cassava when floods submerged all the crops in their gardens, and that as a result, his family of 11 is on the verge of starvation. “As we talk, all the gardens have been submerged. For five days now, the water in the gardens is almost at knee-level, making even harvesting of ready cassava difficult,” he said.

Francis Akorikin, the District Chairperson of Kapelebyong says that a total of 1,310 households have been affected in Amero Parish alone with 1,540 houses destroyed by water. The affected houses are mainly temporal grass-thatched houses.

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Emmanuel Opio, the Communications Officer at Kapelebyong district says the floods have also affected three sub-counties which include Akoboi, Okungur and Kapelebyong Sub Counties. He adds that Aikit Health Centre-III in Okungur Sub County has also been cut off while the road network in Akoboi has been disconnected by floods.

“Even at the district headquarters, our pit latrines have sunk down because of the increasing water levels caused by heavy downpour”, he said.

According to Akorikin, the district is currently engaging the technical experts on how to improve sanitation since most of the pit latrines in the communities and institutions have sunk because of heavy rains. He notes that the district has had persistent flooding over the years because of its low lying topography.

At the moment, residents in the villages of Aridai, Ajeesai and Agonga in Okungur Sub County are not able to bury their loved ones because of flooding.

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Last year, heavy rains again ravaged Kapelebyong district leaving several people homeless. The rains also affected Kapelebyong CPS and Kapelebyong HC1V among others, making workers relocate from staff quarters. Most of the water flooding Kapelebyong comes from Napak and Moroto districts in the Karamoja sub-region which lie upper belt to Teso Sub Region.