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.
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.
