Uganda landslides kill 23 people, toll seen rising

The landslides occurred in the early hours of Monday after
unseasonably heavy rains near the border with Kenya, razing hundreds of houses,
the Red Cross said in a statement.
“We have so far confirmed 23 people dead in Mabono and Meru
villages in Bulambuli district but we have only been able to retrieve 15
bodies. The landslide occurred at about 1 a.m. (2200 GMT) last night,”
Catherine Ntabbade, spokesperson for Uganda Red Cross, told Reuters.
Local media quoted officials as saying the death toll was
expected to rise further. The heavy rains have also caused heavy flooding and
crop damage in some areas, the Red Cross said.
Scores of Ugandans were killed in a similar disaster in
March last year.