In four Parishes in the Mutara Sub County Mitooma district, hailstorm has caused havoc. The impacted parishes are those of Kataho, Ryakitanga, Bikungu, and Enshaka.
Numerous animals, including cows, goats, and pigs, perished in the hailstorm that hit the area on Sunday afternoon. It also severely damaged acres of banana and coffee plantations as well as gardens of beans, maize, and sweet and Irish potatoes.
A resident of Kataho Village in Kataho parish named Naboth Mbeyongera claims that the hailstorm began at around 3 PM and continued for four hours. Mbeyongera claims that while his neighbor lost 3 cows to the hailstorm, he only lost 1 cow and 6 goats.
After gathering some of the hailstones, a group of locals led by LC V councilor Bernard Mbangira attacked the sub-county office and begged for assistance.
The Mutara Sub County LC V councilor, Benard Mbangira, claims that this is the first time the region has been struck by such a severe disaster and mentions that he has lost two acres of cassava and coffee.
He claims that they have already notified the appropriate offices so they can assist the impacted people.
The local council chairpersons in the affected districts have been requested to collect lists of the hailstorm victims to send to the Office of the Prime Minister for assistance, according to Benon Karyeija, the Mitooma District LC V Chairperson.
Although the district has a committee for disaster preparedness, he notes that it is underfunded because it was formed after the budget was approved.
