Floods escalate across Uganda by Steph Ball
The flood situation is expected to escalate across parts of Uganda over the coming weeks with more heavy rain forecast.
Heavy rain over the last few weeks has already seen widespread floods affecting a large part of the central belt of Africa, but with northern and eastern parts of Uganda amongst the worst affected areas. Here, the rains have caused major problems to the infrastructure of the country, with key roads and bridges washed away. It has also led to the displacement of thousands with the livelihoods of many also destroyed.
The recent rains are reported to be the heaviest the country has seen in the last 35 years. The ensuing floods reached a critical level last week forcing the Ugandan president to declare a state of emergency across the country. It was the first time in his two-decade rule that he had had to declare a state of emergency.
Unusual heavy rains have been affecting parts of Africa since early August, with well over a million flood victims now suffering across a large swathe from Ghana in the west to Ethiopia in the east.
While the situation worsened on Tuesday in Uganda with rescuers having to pull patients from a deluged hospital, other parts of Africa are also facing a similar fate.
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