Hailstorm devastates Oyam Town Council
An helpless woman shows the gravity of the disaster at her home in Oyam Town Council on April 28, 2023. PHOTO BY JULIUS OCEN
What you need to know:
By Sunday evening, local leaders and the Uganda Red Cross Society team were still assessing the gravity of the disaster that struck the area on Friday at around 5 pm
Several houses and gardens have been destroyed after a severe hailstorm ravaged Oyam Town Council in Oyam District.
By Sunday evening, local leaders and the Uganda Red Cross Society team were still assessing the gravity of the disaster that struck the area on Friday at around 5 pm.
Mr Richard Acut, the LC1 chairman of Agoa “B” Cell, told Daily Monitor that about 90 households in his area of jurisdiction alone have been affected.
One of the victims of the Friday evening’s downpour is Ms Nekolina Akot, 80, of Atek Cell in Western Ward, who takes care of eight orphaned children. The hailstorm blew off the roof of her only two-roomed semi-permanent house, destroying all the family’s foodstuffs, including sesame (sim sim) and beans.
“When I was seated with my orphans in the grass-thatched kitchen, I heard a lot of noise. When I got out, I found out that wind had blown away the roof of my main building,” Ms Akot said, appealing to well-wishers to extend a helping hand to the family.
Another resident Janet Akech, 40, is also counting losses following the 5 pm disaster. That same fateful evening, two of Akech’s children survived unhurt after strong wind carried away the roof of their house, destroying properties worth over Shs2 million.
“I was inside the kitchen with other children. Two other children who were taking shelter in the main building emerged while running and shouting, ‘Mum, mum, our building has fallen’. When I peeped out, I saw my beautiful house was without its roof,” Ms Akech told our reporter on Sunday.
Akech is now wondering how she will start from zero after losing everything, including bedding, clothes, and foodstuffs to the disaster.
Other residents affected by the disaster include; Mr Eddy Okello, who lost one acre of cassava garden and one acre of beans, and Tonny Igwel of Alongo Omwoc Cell who lost one acre of sunflower.
Mr Stephen Okello, Oyam Town Council chairperson, appealed to the Office of the Prime Minister to support the affected families with relief items.
