Landslide kills at least 23 in Uganda

[Pastor Dale Morgan]

Perilous Times and Climate Change

Landslide kills at least 23 in Uganda

By the CNN Wire Staff
August 29, 2011 7:46 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

    * Red Cross: Torrential rains trigger the landslide
    * Two people are rescued, but the death toll is expected to go up


(CNN) -- A massive landslide swallowed homes in eastern Uganda early Monday, killing at least 23 people, the Red Cross said.

Torrential rains triggered the landslide, Red Cross spokeswoman Catherine Ntabadde said by phone from the scene.

Two people have been rescued, but the death toll is expected to rise as rescue crews scour through the site in Bulambuli district.

Bulambuli district is about 300 kilometers northeast of the capital, Kampala.

It occurred in the same region where a landslide killed at least 87 last year near Mount Elgon, on the Kenya-Uganda border.

Heavy rain, hilly terrain and inadequate equipment slowed efforts to recover hundreds of people buried last year.

Flooding also destroyed roads and washed away bridges in the region at the time.