Lagos, Nigeria (Haaba) - More than 300,000 people have been displaced in the Mount Elgon region and the neighbouring lowlands of Butaleja, Budaka and Tororo districts following the landslide that devastated Bududa in eastern Uganda last week.

Another 500,000 people in western Uganda are at risk of landslides and floods. A powerful landslide struck Katebwa sub-county in Kabarole district on Saturday, displacing some 500 people. A day earlier, a landslide which occurred in Kisoro district killed three people and destroying property.

Over 83 bodies have so far been recovered by rescue teams in Bududa. Over 300 people are still missing and feared dead. Only 31 survivors have been rescued from the three affected villages of Nametsi, Kubweho and Namangasa.

President Yoweri Museveni over the weekend said the search for bodies will continue until all the dead have been recovered. The Government will only declare the disaster site a mass grave after the search is called off. He explained that the Government plans to evacuate residents in disaster-prone areas to safer places when the emergency operations are over.

The Government is also looking at the possibility of opening up a road to reach the affected communities. The country has appealed to the United Nations and other development partners to provide a heavy-duty helicopter for airlifting a motorized buckle scooper.