Uganda Red Cross Society in collaboration with the government have installed early warning systems on the upper stream of River Nyamwamba to reduce the impact of floods, as authorities embarked on a plan of protecting the river that is increasingly faced with flooding due to encroachment and sand mining.
Speaking to Ug Mirror, Emmanuel Ntale, the early warning, early action officer at Red Cross Society Uganda, said the nature of flooding from Nyamwamba River shows with stones that is so much destructive to the community downstream.
“So we worked with the Ministry of Water and Environment to install that particular monitoring system that we shall use to monitor the flow of water and then gather information that we shall use to provide warning to the people downstream, “he said.
He explained that the system uses light to do the measurements unlike the previous monitoring systems which were installed in the river but later destroyed by floods that come with stones.
“So this kind of equipment uses light; you install it from a distance. It was piloted in Bangladesh in the river that has similar characteristics like that of Nyamwamba,” he said.
He noted that there are also plans underway to install community radios downstream that will help tapping from the reading of the sensors in the monitoring system.
“As the system is monitoring, it sends automated text messages of the reading to the cell phones not only smart phones but also traditional phones of some leaders. People downstream will be able to receive that warning information but also Red Cross will use that information to help people go to safer places, “he explained.
He said the systems will help the authorities to take early action.
Kasese district experiences devastating floods every year, with River Nyamwamba always bursting its banks, leaving a trail of destruction, killing people and displacing hundreds.
More than 100,000 people were affected by floods that hit Kasese district previously, destroying gardens, bridges, schools, houses and other properties.
River Nyamwamba stretches through Kasese with a total of 257.2 kilometres. It has been divided into three sections for restoration.