Torrential rains across East Africa have sparked flash floods that have swept away homes, bridges and lives in a region emerging from a harsh drought that plunged millions into hunger. The annual rainy reason has seen unusually heavy downpour. Some 300 people were feared dead in eastern Uganda where days of rainfall this week caused a huge landslide that buried entire villages.
Meteorological officials have predicted more rains in the coming weeks as the March to May wet season peaks. The meteorological department in Kenya, where six people were killed and dozens reported missing after flash floods Thursday, forecast that many areas in the country "are likely to experience near normal rainfall with a slight tendency towards above normal." A similar forecast was put out by Ugandan authorities as they embarked on relocating thousands of residents from the landslide-stricken villages in the eastern Bududa district, fearing more mudslides.
The landslide which engulfed three villages in the region was one of the worst disasters to hit the east Africa country in recent years. In neighbouring Tanzania, some 28,000 people were left homeless following heavy flooding in December and January in the country's eastern and central regions.
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