Kampala — The government plans to establish an emergency response centre in Mbale District to mitigate the effects of the looming landslides in the Mt. Elgon region, the disaster preparedness minister, Musa Ecweru has said.

Addressing the press at Mt Elgon Hotel on Friday, Ecweru said that the office would be equipped with communication equipment to co-ordinate disaster response activities and interventions in the landslide-prone areas.

He said similar offices would be set up in Gulu to co-ordinate activities in northern Uganda, Karamoja and West Nile while another office would be established in Fort Portal to cater for western Uganda.

"We still expect a lot of problems here (Mt. Elgon). The heavy rains are carrying on until May. These mudslides that took place in Bududa are also likely to occur in Sironko and Kapchorwa districts. So we must be prepared to handle any eventualities," Ecweru said.

Ecweru explained that the Mbale centre would monitor the disaster occurrences world over and come up with appropriate solutions to mitigate the effects locally. He said the office would be a converging centre for all relief agencies responding to the disaster.

He revealed that the Government and the UPDF top military officials had seconded Maj. Gen. Julius Oketta, the director for emergency co-ordination in the Prime Minister's Office, to head the centre.

On the night of March 1, the landslides buried over 350 people at Nametsi trading centre in Bududa District. The UPDF soldiers, with the help of the local residents, have so far dug out a total of 93 bodies.

Seventeen survivors who were rescued from the scene of the fatal tragedy were airlifted and admitted to Bududa Hospital where they are nursing soft tissue injuries and fractures.

Since the Bududa landslides, other parts of the country, including Katteebwa Sub-county and Bunyangabo on the slopes of Mt. Rwenzori in Kabarole have been hit too. Kisoro District has also been hit by landslides that have resulted in the death of three people.

Oketta said the Government is liaising with the UN peace support mission to provide helicopters to airlift heavy earth equipment to excavate the remaining bodies buried at Nametsi trading centre.

"We expect the choppers any time next week. The culture of the people in Bugisu here has a strong attachment to the dead. People want to give their beloved ones decent burial. So we have to strive and ensure that these bodies are recovered," Oketta said.

He added that a recent satellite photo taken by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva indicates that all parts of Mt. Elgon were still prone to landslides.

"We have already got in touch with the local leaders to ensure that the people stay away from the risky slopes of the mountain," Oketta said.