Hailstorms Ravage Zombo District again, Heightening Food Insecurity

 Hailstorms Ravage Zombo District again, Heightening Food Insecurity

By Mike Rwothomio 

A severe rainfall with hailstorm pounded Zombo District on Thursday and Friday, August 8, 2025, unleashing a trail of destruction across multiple lower local government units, including Abanga, Warr, Atyak, and Zombo Town Council.

 The disaster left farmers grappling with significant losses to critical infrastructure and agricultural assets.

The hailstorms obliterated biannual and perennial crops, including beans, maize, cassava, coffee, and avocados, severely undermining the agrarian community’s resilience and escalating the risk of acute food insecurity and potential famine. 

Zombo District’s LCV Chairperson, James Oruna Oyullu, confirmed the scale of the disaster, describing it as “alarming and severe.” 

He noted that extension workers are actively conducting damage assessments and urged affected communities to report losses to local authorities for rapid coordination with higher-level disaster response entities.

 “We are committed to linking our community with relevant authorities to secure assistance,” Oyullu stated, emphasizing the need for timely reporting to facilitate aid.

Critical infrastructure, including educational institutions like Friget Nursery and Primary and Paidha Progressive Nursery and Primary Schools in Paidha Town Council, sustained severe damage, with buildings deroofed by the powerful hailstorms.

 Oyullu appealed for calm, assuring residents that past interventions from the Ministry, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Office of Disaster Preparedness could serve as a precedent for forthcoming aid.

 “We are hopeful that by escalating this crisis, support will be forthcoming,” he added.

In Warr Sub-County, LCIII Chairperson James Cekecan Apoy reported widespread impacts, particularly in Pakia Parish, Aciro, Oriang, Aida, Jupujuku, Azi, Nyamola, and parts of Bindu villages.

 “The hailstorm devastated beans, maize, and cassava crops, leaving farmers in urgent need of immediate relief,” Cekecan stated, calling for rapid response measures.

Similarly, in Abanga Sub-County, LCIII Chairperson Richard Awekunimungu reported catastrophic losses in Serr, Asina, and parts of Pamitu Parishes, where coffee and cabbage crops, key sources of livelihood and school fees were decimated. 

“The community is in distress and urgently requires government intervention, as seen in last year’s response,” Awekunimungu noted.

This disaster follows a pattern of recurring climate-related hazards in Zombo, with similar devastating hailstorms striking Abanga Sub-County and Padea Town Council in 2024, affecting Serr and Pakadha Parishes and exacerbating food security challenges.

In response, government through office of the prime minister, early this year delivered relief items to the affected community in Abanga Sub-County.

 The District Disaster Management Committee has repeatedly highlighted chronic underfunding, which severely limits proactive disaster preparedness and effective response, leaving communities increasingly exposed to recurring climate shocks.

Historically, Zombo District’s dense vegetation provided a natural shield against extreme weather events. However, since the early 2000s, rampant deforestation and depletion of forest reserves have significantly increased the region’s vulnerability to hailstorms, floods, and windstorms, amplifying the impacts of climate-induced hazards, according to local environmentalists.

The Uganda National Risk Atlas (2019) identifies hailstorms as one of the country’s seven priority hazards, alongside floods, droughts, landslides, lightning, windstorms, and earthquakes, underscoring the urgent need for robust disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation strategies in vulnerable regions like Zombo.