By MONITOR

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At least 17 people have been killed following heavy rains in Buyende District, eastern Uganda.

The downpour on Tuesday morning ravaged villages in Kidera Sub-County.

Kidera Sub-County Chairman William Kiiza said he had counted the bodies.

Residents called for assistance amid fears of starvation and a cholera outbreak.

Mr Kiiza said more than 80 people are admitted at Kidera Health Centre IV and Kamuli Hospital.

In Tororo, residents of Amoni Villages in Malaba Town Council have mounted a search for a woman who was swept away by floodwaters in River Malaba.

Eye witnesses told Daily Monitor that Regina Ekakol was swept away as she tried to uproot vegetables she had planted along the river bank.

Mr Selestino Obbo said several people who had gone to their gardens climbed trees as the river broke its banks, narrowly escaping the raging floodwaters.

He said crops and some livestock were swept away.