AMURU – A total of about 700 people are stranded in Elegu town in Atiak Sub-County in Amuru district after heavy torrential rains submerge Eastern part of the town forcing people to run for their safety.
Speaking to our reporter on Tuesday, Michael Okema, the Mayor of Elegu Town that borders South Sudan and Uganda says the flood started on Sunday evening has forced people in the entire eastern side of the town and some part of the western side to evacuate their homes as volumes of water continues to submerge their homes.
“The entire Lorikwor East is flooded and in Lorikwor West including police post stretching toward River Unyama are all flooded whereby over 700 people have been forced to evacuate their houses and businesses,” Okema said.
In an interview, the mayor said people are still stranded with their properties on the roadsides but to make matters worse, hooligans are taking advantage of the situation to steal people’s properties.
Coupled with heavy rain that rained today between 6:00 am and 11:00 am, the Town Mayor noted people living in great fear that the situation may get worst.
River Unyama is a tributary to River Aswa flowing toward South Sudan and has a narrow channel according to the locals. Usually, when the region receives torrential it causes River Unyama to burst from the bank into the community after collecting a huge amount of water from all the tributaries flowing from areas of Gulu, Keyo, Pabbo and Atiak hence flooding the border town center.
In August 2017 flood water killed 3 people, left over 3000 homeless and traders lost millions worth of items to the floods that lasted for days in the same town.
The local authority of Elegu town has been calling up the government to open up the channel to prevent the outburst of the high-density River water into the settlement but according to Mayor, the Amuru district local government has not yet receive any support of the central government over the years.
He says people are living in fear because with the high amount of rainfall the region is receiving, the situation in Elegu may get worst.
The incident coincided with the tour of Deputy Inspectorate General of Police, Sabiiti Mozeyi in Elegu, and he suggested that the channel be open to avoid a repaeted incident.
Jimmy Patrick Okema, the region police publicist noted suspects were transferred to new site as shells and personnel homesteads were badly submerged with an unspecified amount of property damaged. He says no death has yet been reported so far.
“It’s true even the suspects have been shifted to the new side of the custom, and it damaged many properties of our personnel in their homes” Okema commented at the time the tour on Monday 17th evening.
