KAMPALA, Uganda

Triggered by heavy rains, landslides in eastern Uganda have recently washed gardens away, swept up bridges, and buried homes under tidal waves of mud.

The mudslides raced down hills, leaving trails of destruction and killing dozens, while many remain unaccounted for around the Mount Elgon region where they occurred.

Mount Elgon is a massive solitary volcano near the East African nation's Kenyan border. One of the largest extinct volcanos in the world, it first became active 24 million years ago and erupted 14 million years later. Many locals make their living by growing potatoes, onions, bananas, and coffee in the fertile volcanic soils it has produced.

However, the region is also prone to disasters. Over the past decade alone, more than 1,000 people have been killed by multiple landslides in the area. Reports say the figure could actually be higher as some of the victims have never been found.

Martin Owor, a commissioner in Uganda's Department of Relief, Disaster Preparedness, and Management, told Anadolu Agency that local people were advised to plant trees with deep roots to help prevent erosion. However, few people preferred to plant crops that grow and sell quickly, despite their shallow roots.

Francis Ogwang, a soil scientist who has worked in the Mount Elgon area to reduce the occurrence of climate-related disasters, said the high population density in the area has led to overuse of the land for agriculture, making the soil looser and prone to landslides.

"Volcanic soils are younger, softer, and this combined with overuse of the land for agriculture increases the risk of landslides," he explained.

Volcanic soils most fertile

Katongole Hadija, a university lecturer on environment-related subjects, told Anadolu Agency that although people living on the slopes of Mount Elgon understand the danger it poses to their lives, they have decided to take the risk in favor of the productive farmland.

"Volcanic ash soils are among the world's most fertile, productive soils. The ash expelled during volcanic eruptions is perfect fertilizer, containing an abundance of vital nutrients for growing plants, such as calcium, potassium, magnesium, and phosphate."

"They're also great at sucking carbon out of the atmosphere and putting it into the soil. So, the people here have weighed the pros and cons and believe staying for the fertile ground is worth it," she said.

She pointed to Indonesia as a country with some of the world's most active volcanoes, where people can get up to three harvests per year of rice, a staple food that supports its massive 279 million-strong population.

"It's therefore important for the government to pay attention to initiatives intended to improve the stability of soils in landslide-prone areas, as well as the installation of early warning systems for landslides to mitigate the loss of lives and property during such disasters," she said.

Climate change

The country's National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) confirmed that the landslides in eastern Uganda resulted from climate change "being manifested more severely now than ever before."

Changes in temperatures due to climate change have increased evaporation rates and the amount of moisture in the atmosphere, it explained in a statement.

This has resulted in "fast rainfall formation characterized by flash floods," as in the Elgon region, NEMA added, with atmospheric moisture increasing by 7% for every 1C (1.8F) change in temperature.

While excess rains and flash floods have hit wet areas, dry regions are becoming drier as a consequence of the expedited loss of water amid high evaporation rates, it said.

According to the International Displacement Unit, Uganda has 95,000 people who live as internal refugees due to natural disasters.

Authorities have announced plans to relocate people who either have been displaced by natural disasters or living in landslide and mudslide-prone areas.

The Uganda National Meteorological Authority warned of enhanced rainfall over several parts of the country that could result in disasters such as landslides and floods, leading to loss of life and destruction in the first major rainy season.

The Mount Elgon region has experienced an increase in both the number of extreme rain events and the average rainfall, partly explained by natural variability in weather patterns but also due to climate change.

According to the UN World Meteorological Organization, average global temperatures have warmed by at least 1.1C compared to pre-industrial times.

Scientists say the world needs to make deep, sustained cuts in greenhouse gases, primarily by transitioning from fossil fuels, to contain global warming to 1.5C and prevent worse climate-linked disasters.