Uganda: Parts of Mt Elgon have developed fresh multiple cracks

[Khan]

December 8   2013 

 

Parts of Mt Elgon have developed fresh multiple cracks, Bududa District leaders have said.
MPs, Norwegian ambassador Thor Bjorn and Bududa District leaders toured one of the villages that were hit by landslides on Friday. They warned of a looming disaster and called for government’s immediate intervention.

The MPs under the Parliamentary Climate Change Forum are visiting Bududa District and some areas of Bulambuli on a field learning tour of the region to assess the impact of climate change in the aftermath of the landslides.

The MPs’ warning comes at a time when the mapping survey from Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) also indicated that people living on the slopes of Mt Elgon are at great risk. They said the dead volcanic mountain has developed bigger cracks, triggered off by heavy deforestation, poor methods of farming and poor land management around the mountain.

Over population
The population in Bududa is projected to be at about 200,000. Most of the residents are settled in danger zones.
The mountainous areas are prone to landslides.
Between 2011 and 2013, about 1,000 people lost their lives as a result of the landslides. Locals, especially in Bulucheke Sub-county, were displaced and others driven into camps and later relocated to Kiryandongo.

No progress
According to the district chairperson, Mr John Bosco Nambeshe, a Cabinet sub-committee intervened to settle the people of Bududa and they were given three options, of which they settled for the urbanisation of safe zones within Bududa. About Shs8 billion was apparently earmarked for the project under the Prime Minister’s office but nothing has been implemented.

Whereas government has suggested forced relocation, Mr Nambeshe said this will not work unless people are first counselled.

In Kiryandongo, out of the 700 houses promised to the migrants, only 100 have been constructed so far.
Ambassador Bjorn advised the residents to accept to be relocated since there are already early warning signs. He pledged more support towards the conservation of Mt Elgon.

Some of the dangerous zones that were cited include Bulucheke Sub-county in Bumwaluka parish, where a thick crack was cited.

Another crack stretches from Manafwa through Bududa to Sironko and Bulambuli and Sebei region (over 60km crack) and another one in Bushinyi Sub-county. All these places have families that have not been relocated.

Mr John Bosco Nambeshe, the Bududa District chairperson, said: “We had an earthquake this year which had serious impact on the cracks in Bududa.

We visited the scene recently and dropped a 14-feet ladder into the crack and it disappeared. Our people are seated on a time bomb.”
He said people are living at God’s mercy since government has not yet relocated them as promised.

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Africa Rolls On

The pinch in Nigeria and pull in the African Rift valley occur because the African continent is pushed into  the Mediterranean and lands to the east of the Red Sea, though this will eventually occur during the African roll.

ZetaTalk Prediction 10/16/2010: This time the African Plate will drop away significantly, slipping to the south during the roll. This movement is possible because as the South Atlantic Rift tears open, there is room for the tip of Africa to slid into that void, thus dropping the entire African Plate as it rolls. The African Plate not only moves to the south during this process, it also further to the west, although the southern portion of Africa moves more in this direction more than the parts abutting the Mediterranean. The roll will incite the Arabian Plate to roll also, to some degree, as across from Egypt there will be pressure, but further down the Red Sea there will be a tearing apart, inviting the Arabian Plate to migrate in this direction.

ZetaTalk Prediction 12/4/2010: The roll will incite the Arabian Plate to roll also, to some degree, as across from Egypt there will be pressure, but further down the Red Sea there will be a tearing apart, inviting the Arabian Plate to migrate in this direction.

ZetaTalk Prediction 1/1/2011: Where the Sinai Peninsula is considered part of the African Plate, the Red Sea is clearly ripping open. Thus both the Red Sea at the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba tearing up into Jordan will rip open, leaving the Sinai Peninsula positioned like an island with few direct attachments.

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