Latest news with #avalanche
Times of Oman
21 hours ago
- General
- Times of Oman
Uganda still battling waste disaster one year on
Kampala: Zamhall Nansamba stands in front of her house in Kiteezi, a suburb of Uganda's capital Kampala, her 1-year-old son in her arms. Flies buzz around her, and the smell of garbage fills the air. Her flip-flops keep her feet just above the muddy dirt floor. One year ago, on August 9, 2024, an avalanche of rubbish from the adjacent landfill almost buried Nansamba's family and her home. The mother of two says she was extremely lucky. "I got up early that morning to do the housework," she recalls. "When I heard a noise I went outside. I saw the trees and the rubbish coming," she says, her lips trembling. "I grabbed my two children and we ran." The 31-year-old points up at a huge mountain of waste —Kampala's municipal landfill — towering above her detached house. Last August, tons of waste thundered down the slope and buried more than 70 houses. Thirty-four bodies were recovered, more than 20 people are still missing and some 220 residents were left homeless. Later, officials said a methane explosion triggered the landslide. That day completely changed life for Nansamba's family. When she returned to see if her house was still standing, she found the building intact, but many others destroyed and the cows in the neighboring meadow were all dead. "Some of the people lost their property, lost their lives," she tells DW. "Until now, we are living a miserable life. We had rental apartments down there, and I was able to pay my children's school fees with the income from those apartments." What happens now with Kampala's waste? Immediately after the disaster, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) told residents living near the landslide to move over the risk of further collapse. But families like Nansamba's, who live in this poor neighbourhood on Kampala's northern outskirts, have no money to settle elsewhere. Fear of another potential landslide keeps her awake at night, says Nansamba. Her husband is undergoing psychiatric treatment. "We are all traumatised," she says. Immediately after the landslide, the KCCA closed the landfill in Kiteezi, where all the waste from the 2-million-strong metropolis has been piling up unsorted for over 27 years. City spokesperson Daniel Nuweabine told DW the Japanese government recently provided $1 million (about €860,000) in funding to secure the landfill, flying in machinery and Japanese engineers. Work included compressing about 500,000 tonnes of waste. "This is a huge task. These are high-risk areas where methane gas is present in the ground and the pressure can open cracks and easily trigger further avalanches," said Nuweabine. The Kiteezi landfill is now officially closed. But where do the 2,000 tons of waste go that Kampala produces daily? Nuweabine said the KCCA bought 90 hectares of land in Buyala, 27 kilometres (16.7 miles) west of Kampala, in March to build a new landfill. The municipality has big plans for processing the city's waste, he said, Those include a composting project to create biogas. An estimated 80% of household trash is compostable biowaste, composed mainly of organic matter, because Kampala residents rarely eat processed food. The rest could be recycled, Nuweabine said. In early 2024, the German Chamber of Commerce Abroad held a conference in Kampala on the circular economy and waste processing, with companies such as Siemens listening to the Environment Ministry's plans to recycle more materials — still a rare process in Africa. Uganda's new landfills won't just be dumping grounds, but will also be recycling centres. New dumping ground proves controversial But so far, the idea lacks investors and funding. Unsorted waste is still being dumped in Buyala, which remains controversial, according to Aldon Walukamba, spokesperson for Uganda's National Forestry Authority. "To our knowledge, this is still a forest reserve," Walukamba told DW. "It is located in the catchment area of the Mayanja River, a key contributor to Lake Victoria and its biodiversity ecosystem." But, he added, "we found that indeed some garbage had been dumped." When Walukamba went to the area himself in December 2024, soldiers and police officers were on site. In Uganda, the parliament and president must give their approval before forest reserves can be released for other uses. "This wasn't done," said Walukamba. He suspects the city administration and the previous landowners worked together "hastily and illegally" to secure the sale of the land. The controversy has sparked several court cases. The KCCA insists the land near Buyala, where garbage is now being dumped, belonged to two private individuals from whom KCCA legally acquired the land in March. A court ordered an investigation into whether it was a reserve. "The report found the land in question is not part of the forest reserve," said KCCA spokesperson Nuweabine. Back in Kiteezi, the victims of the landslide that kicked everything off are still waiting for compensation to allow them to live somewhere safe. Speaking with DW, Nuweabine said that just recently a cabinet meeting had drafted a memorandum and an order had been issued to the relevant Finance Ministry to pay victims.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Uganda still battling waste disaster one year on
Zamhall Nansamba stands in front of her house in Kiteezi, a suburb of Uganda's capital Kampala, her one-year-old son in her arms. Flies buzz around her, the smell of garbage filling the air. Her flip-flops keep her feet just above the muddy dirt floor. One year ago, on August 9, 2024, an avalanche of rubbish from the adjacent landfill almost buried Nansamba's family and her home. The mother of two says she was extremely lucky: "I got up early that morning to do the housework," she recalls. "When I heard a noise I went outside. I saw the trees and the rubbish coming." Her lips tremble as she recounts, "I grabbed my two children and we ran." The 31-year-old points up at a huge mountain of waste – Kampala's municipal landfill – towering above her detached house. In 2024, tons of waste thundered down the slope and buried more than 70 houses. 34 bodies were recovered, and more than 20 people are still missing. More than 220 residents were left homeless. Later, officials said a methane explosion triggered the landslide. That day completely changed Nansamba's family's life. When she returned to see if her house was still standing, she found the building intact, but many others destroyed and the cows in the neighboring meadow were all dead. "Some of the people lost their property, lost their lives," she tells DW. "Until now, we are living a miserable life. We had rental apartments down there, and I was able to pay my children's school fees with the income from those apartments." Japanese help Immediately after the disaster, the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) told residents living near the landslide to move because the landfill could slide further. But families like Nansamba's, who live in this poor neighborhood on the northern outskirts of Kampala, have no money to settle elsewhere. Fear of another potential avalanche keeps her awake at night, Nansamba says. Her husband is undergoing psychiatric treatment. "We are all traumatized," she tells DW. Immediately after the landslide, the KCCA closed the landfill in Kiteezi, where all the waste from the two-million-strong metropolis has been piling up unsorted for over 27 years. City spokesperson Daniel Nuweabine told DW the Japanese government recently provided $1 million in funding to secure the landfill, flying in machinery and Japanese engineers. Work included compressing about 500,000 tonnes of waste. "This is a huge task. These are high-risk areas where methane gas is present in the ground and the pressure can open cracks and easily trigger further avalanches," says Nuweabine. The Kiteezi landfill is now officially closed. But where do the 2,000 tonnes of waste go that Kampala produces daily? Nuweabine says in March the KCCA bought 90 hectares of land in Buyala, 27 kilometers west of Kampala, to build a new landfill. The municipality has big plans for processing the city's waste, the spokesperson said, which includes a composting project to create biogas. An estimated 80% of household trash is compostable biowaste, because Kampala residents rarely use processed food. The rest could be recycled, Nuweabine says. In early 2024, the German Chamber of Foreign Trade held a conference on the circular economy and waste processing in Kampala. Companies such as Siemens heard the Ugandan Ministry of Environment's plans to recycle more materials. New landfills are to become recycling centers. Controversial land issue But so far, the idea lacks investors and funding. Unsorted waste is still being dumped in Buyala, which remains controversial, according to Aldon Walukamba, spokesperson for Uganda's National Forestry Authority. "To our knowledge, this is still a forest reserve," Walukamba tells DW. "It is located in the catchment area of the Mayanja River, a key contributor to Lake Victoria and its biodiversity ecosystem." "We found that indeed some garbage had been dumped," Walukamba said. When he went there himself in December 2024, soldiers and police officers were on site. In Uganda, the parliament and president must give approval before forest reserves can be degazetted for use. "This wasn't done," says Walukamba. He suspects the city administration and the previous landowners worked together "hastily and illegally" to secure the sale of the land. The controversy has sparked several court cases. The KCCA insists the land near Buyala, where garbage is now being dumped, belonged to two private individuals from whom KCCA legally acquired the land in March. A court ordered an investigation into whether it was a reserve. KCCA spokesperson Nuweabine told DW: "The report found the land in question is not part of the forest reserve." In Kiteezi the victims of the landslide that kicked everything off are still waiting for compensation to allow them to live somewhere safe. Nuweabine told DW that just recently a cabinet meeting had drafted a memorandum, and an order had been issued to the relevant finance ministry to pay victims. "The people shall be compensated," he told DW. This article was originally published in German.
CTV News
5 days ago
- Sport
- CTV News
Canmore man who survived avalanche cycling to Montreal
Giordano Pillarella, who survived an avalanche in March 2024, is riding from his home in Canmore to Montreal in support of the group that helped with his recovery. A Canmore man who survived an avalanche in the Rocky Mountains last year has made it his mission to help the organization that played a critical role in his recovery. Giordano Pillarella was injured after he was caught in an avalanche while skiing in March 2024. During his recovery, Pillarella received support from Mountain Muskox, a peer support group based in the Bow Valley for those who've experienced trauma or loss in the mountains. He's now paying it forward, raising money for the group through a 4,000-kilometre cycling trip from Canmore to Montreal. While his physical injuries have mostly healed, Pillarella said his mental health is still recovering. 'I felt like there was a ghost of me, an old part of my past that I wasn't able to relive,' Pillarella told CTV News during his latest stop in Regina. 'I'd go to the same places that I used to ski, but I wouldn't have that ambition to want to chase those goals.' He says the biggest thing that's helped has been accepting what happened and moving forward from it. 'Maybe I'm not able to do those things I used to do, but that's OK.' Pillarella began his journey Aug. 1 and hopes to make it to Montreal by Aug. 20. He is collecting funds for Mountain Muskox using a GoFundMe campaign.
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- Daily Mail
Rescue team hits British hiker with huge £12,200 bill after saving him from Italian avalanche 'because of Brexit'
A British hiker was hit with a huge £12,200 bill after Italian emergency rescue services saved him from an avalanche on a rocky mountain, blaming Brexit for the lofty fine. The 60-year-old found himself in danger as he came across an avalanche on a mountain path near the San Vito di Cadore in the Belluno area of the Dolomites. The hiker was lucky to survive, according to emergency services, who blamed the British national for failing to heed mountain warning signs urging climbers to turn back on the steep mountain. He would have also footed a smaller bill had the ordeal happened before Britain exited the European Union, rescue services said. The British man was hiking on the Ferrata Berti path at a height of 8,200ft (2,500m), even though there were signs in English and Italian urging hikers to turn back. He is understood to have set off alone for the trek from Passo Tre Croci, near Cortina d'Ampezzo, on Thursday morning. 'He said he didn't see the signs warning of the danger,' Nicola Cherubin, head of alpine rescue in San Vito di Cadore, told The Telegraph. She added: 'Rocks have been falling continually in that area for the past two months. With these landslides it is not secure. He was really afraid.' Rockfalls are commonplace in the Dolomites, but experts this year have sounded the alarm about a drastic increase in the number of collapses due to extreme heat. A collapse on the Marmolada mountain, the highest mountain of the Dolomites, in 2022 sent an avalanche of snow, rock and ice downslope, killing 11 people. At least 83 people have died on the Italian Alps between June 21 and July 23 this year, with five more going missing. Soaring temperatures are attracting inexperienced hikers to the mountain range, causing people to get into danger as they turn up ill-equipped in unsuitable clothing and footwear. Overcrowding of the trails has led to calls for better management and protection for the rocky environment. After becoming panicked by falling rocks, the British hiker sounded the alarm at 3.30 pm. A helicopter was sent to save him by the volunteer rescue service but it was initially delayed by low clouds, forcing it to make a second trip to confirm the hiker's location. He was brought to safety and suffered no injuries, but is now being asked to pay a bill of £12,200 to the regional health service for the rescue operation because he is British. 'If someone calls because they are tired or stuck because they find themselves in a place where they shouldn't be, or if they are unharmed with no health issue, they have to pay,' a national rescue service spokesman told The Telegraph. 'If you are from outside the EU without insurance, you have to pay more.' While non-EU nationals must pay a substantial fee if they get themselves into trouble while climbing, Italian or French hikers will only have to pay a few hundred euros. The Ferrata Berti hike trail is officially closed from both approaches, at Cortina and San Vito di Cadore, due to ongoing rockfalls caused by a landslide on Croda Marcora. Despite warning signs, hikers were still accessing the route. Rescuers from San Vito and Cortina have been transported by regional helicopters to place more signs on the mountain range to block the hiking passage, making it impossible for climbers not to notice the closure. In July, a British hiker who went missing in the Italian Alps was found dead near where he sent his final texts to friends. Search teams spotted the body of 33-year-old Matthew Hall who disappeared on July 9 after he sent a text message to friends saying he was lost in the mountains.
Telegraph
03-08-2025
- Telegraph
Rescued British hiker billed £12k for failing to heed Dolomites warning signs
A British hiker is being billed €14,000 (£12,200) by Italian emergency rescue services for failing to heed mountain warning signs. The 60-year-old, who has not been named, found himself in the midst of an avalanche on a rocky mountain path near San Vito di Cadore in the Belluno area of the Dolomites. He was lucky to survive, emergency services said, but not lucky enough to get off with a smaller fine, which he would have done if this had happened before Britain's exit from the European Union. The British man is understood to have set off alone from Passo Tre Croci, near Cortina d'Ampezzo, on Thursday morning. He was hiking on the Ferrata Berti path at an altitude of 8,200ft (2,500m) despite signs in English and Italian urging hikers to turn back. 'He said he didn't see the signs warning of the danger,' Nicola Cherubin, head of alpine rescue in San Vito di Cadore, told The Telegraph. 'Rocks have been falling continually in that area for the past two months. With these landslides it is not secure. He was really afraid.' Photos of the signage posted on the alpine service's Facebook page read: 'Warning. Trail no. 242 (Via Ferrata Berti) and trail no. 241 (Dogana Vecchia-Cengia del Banco) closed due to risk of collapse.' One said in English: 'Stay safe, do not go beyond this warning.' Italy has been warning tourists of the risks of trekking in the alps amid a record number of deaths – nearly 90 this year. The biggest causes have been inexperience and poor preparation while overcrowding has prompted calls for better management of the trails and protection for the environment. The British hiker sounded the alarm at around 3.30pm after becoming distressed by falling rocks. The volunteer rescue service sent a helicopter to rescue him but were initially thwarted by low clouds, forcing it to make a second trip to confirm his location. He was eventually brought to safety with no injuries but is now being asked to pay €14,000 (12,000 pounds) to the regional health service for the helicopter rescue because he is British. The rescue bill for an Italian or French climber might be a few hundred euros. But for non-EU nationals, the fee is considerably higher. 'If someone calls because they are tired or stuck because they find themselves in a place where they shouldn't be, or if they are unharmed with no health issue, they have to pay,' a national rescue service spokesman said. 'If you are from outside the EU without insurance, you have to pay more.' On Sunday rescue service volunteers completely closed the three access points to the Ferrata Berti trail and erected new signage in Italian, English and German warning of continuous rockfalls. On July 19, two Belgians ignored or failed to read the warning signs and were rescued in the same area. Alpine Rescue Service said half of the hikers or climbers billed for their rescues never pay up.
