Residents of Moroto and Kotido districts are living in fear after Flash floods have cut off the Moroto–Kotido Road following three days of heavy rain which started Friday afternoon and lasted for more than 72 hours causing river Lopei to flood and cut off the road, affecting traffic flow from Kotido to Moroto towns.
Residents travelling in vehicles for Moroto from Kotido on Sunday afternpoon had to make a u - turn as they couldn’t cross the swollen river. Also, several passenger service vehicles going either way had to cancel their journey until the water subsides.
Currently, private vehicles are using the longer route from Moroto to Soroti and then Soroti Amuria- Abim to Kotido Road covering a total distance of 376 km (230 miles), a distance that is about three times longer than Moroto- Kotido, which is 111.1km (69 miles).
Now, drivers and passengers must pay more than twice the normal cost of 20 000 Shillings if they travelled via Soroti. Passengers going to Kotido from Moroto or from the latter through the same route have to dig deep into their pockets as the fare rises to Shillings 45 000 instead of only Shillings 20 000.
