Storm brings Kampala to halt

The heavens opened yesterday in Kampala unleashing a gush that soaked the dry and dusty land leaving many workers unable to get lunch outside of their offices. Other workers got a prolonged but upsetting lunch break.

The downpour also saw several business premises soaked, roads temporarily blocked and school children stranded.

According to a mini survey by Daily Monitor, the downpour which was accompanied by hailstorm, inconvenienced both pedestrians and motorists alike. It caused an early traffic gridlock in the city starting at 3pm. The city usually experiences heavy traffic starting at 5:30pm.

Traffic
In the city centre especially on Jinja Road, the flash floods took control of the road, at least for nearly an hour forming pools in low lying areas around the Electoral Commission offices and middle-class hangouts at Centenary Park.

A disgusting smell possibly from broken sewerage pipes also conquered the atmosphere highlighting the serious drainage problems in the city.

At Malcom X Avenue in Kololo, an upscale residential area, the rains brought down a tree which cut-off the road while the wind brought down electricity poles near the Russian Embassy sending the guards at the embassy scampering for safety.

The city suburbs of Bwaise and Kalerwe, which are perennial sufferers from floods, received their usual dose with houses and trees being brought down by the ‘angry’ winds which accompanied the rains.

Suffering
In Nakawa, a breakdown vehicle had to be brought to tow away a minibus belonging to the Office of the President which had got stuck at the junction near Shoprite. While the working class missed out on their favourite lunch dishes at their favourite food cafes, the rains never spared furniture dealers on Port-Bell Road near the sewerage treatment plant who were reduced to spectators after rain water took charge of their work stations.

The timber dealers watched, for hours, as cars waded through the huge pothole nearby. On Kintu Road, motorists were forced to use the pavements after water dominated the middle of the road.
It took 30 minutes after the rains for motorists to access the Queen’s Way because the area had flooded. Some business people lost property, taken by the running water.

“I have lost four packets of cigarette, scholastic materials like books and pens as I tried to gather the items to run to a shade,” Ms Jane Nakakande said. The weather department spokesperson did not answer calls for comment but the department had earlier warned that there would be increased rains in Kampala and other parts of the country towards the end of August.

In March, heavy rains were reported in some parts of the country causing landslides, especially in the eastern district of Bududa, leaving at least 300 people dead and thousands displaced.
River Manafwa also burst its banks at several points rendering an estimated 37,000 people homeless.

In 2007, heavy rainfall caused flooding, the worst in a decade, across eastern and northern Uganda. The most affected areas were eastern Teso, the north-eastern sub-region, central Elgon region, the lowlands of northern Lango and the Acholi sub-regions. No deaths were reported in Kampala yesterday by press time.