By John Nzinjah and John Thawite

Property worth $3m (about Shs8b) has so far been destroyed in Kasese district following the onset floods in the area on May 1st.

The minister of defense, Dr Crispus Kiyonga, said although the damage is so big, it is still smaller than what occurred in Bududa about two years ago. Kiyonga made the remarks briefing the press on Tuesday at Kasese Social Services Hall about the management of the disaster.

"The country lost more human lives in Bududa than it has been in Kasese and the landslides were more catastrophic," Kiyonga said.

By Francis Emorut

Government has deployed regional risk disaster officers in all disaster prone areas in the country to handle victims of floods that have ravaged the country, the state minister of refugees and disaster preparedness, Musa Ecweru has said.

"We are getting bad floods, landslides, storms and frequent lightning bolts therefore, need to have disasters officers in these areas in case disaster strikes," Ecweru told World Bank representatives, disaster specialists, MPs resident district commissioners and disaster management officers.

By John Thawite

At least four people are missing and feared dead in Kasese district after River Nyamwamba burst its banks, submerging several homes.

The floods have cut off the Kasese-Fort Portal Road, leaving many vehicles underwater and hundreds of people stranded.

Two of the victims drowned at Nyakasanga trading centre as they tried to wade through the flooded road while two others in Kilembe could not be traced.

By Wednesday afternoon a frantic search for the victims had been mounted by residents and local authorities.

By FAUSTINE ODEKE

Several bridges and culverts have been swept away by the current torrential rains in Tororo district, cutting off links between some sub-counties and Tororo town.

The worst hit sub-counties are Magola and Iyolwa after culverts along the route from Iyolwa junction trading centre to Iyolwa sub-county headquarters were washed away on Monday.

The Uganda National Roads Authority Tororo station engineer Chris Opuch in a statement said the road has temporally been closed to allow emergency repairs.

By Paul Watala

Over 1320 people in Namabasa parish in Nakaloke sub county, Mbale district were left homeless after torrential rains swept houses in the area. A total of 12 persons were injured and admitted at Tobin health Centre after the Saturday downpour.

The heavy rains combined with hailstorm started at 10pm and lasted less than an hour. The storm destroyed Munira and Good Samaritan primary schools and Namabasa Secondary School. Over 1700 students were stranded and are currently taking their classes under trees.

By Richard Drasimaku

The authorities in Arua municipality have closed Hope Kebir primary school before following a cholera outbreak in the area.

The school is located amongst heavily crammed settlements in Kenya ward, Oli division where sporadic cholera cases have been reported since October.

Norah Fathu, the municipal principal health inspector said they found out last week that two cholera patients were sharing a latrine with the children from the school located less than 10 metres away from their house.

By Taddeo Bwambale and agencies

The Government will next year start free vaccination against pneumonia, the biggest killer of children below the age of five worldwide.

Health ministry spokesperson Rukia Nakamatte confirmed that the ministry had received funding to roll-out the Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine.

The vaccine helps protect children against streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.

By Vision Reporters

One of the two people, who were admitted on Monday with signs of the deadly marburg fever, has died.

Edward Turyamureba, a 38-year-old resident of Kicumbi Cell, Kamuganguzi sub-county, succumbed to severe bleeding and vomiting on Tuesday evening.

He is the sixth person suspected to have died from the disease since it was reported earlier this month. He was laid to rest at a brief funeral yesterday.

Two people were admitted to an isolation centre at Rushoroza Health Centre III in Kabale district on Monday.

Over 600 households that were displaced by floods in Ntoroko district after River Semuliki burst its banks are calling for more relief support from Government and other non-governmental organisations.

The floods, which cut off sub counties of Butungama, Bweramule and Kanara, destroyed property ranging from houses to domestic animals.

“I have received reports that a number of goats and cows have been killed by floods,” Edward Birungi, a parish chief in Butungama, said. He quickly added that no human death has been reported so far.