President Yoweri Museveni has officially declared a state of emergency in eight Northern Uganda districts after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the Gulu sub-region at 3:14am on Wednesday morning, the strongest seismic event recorded in East Africa in over 40 years.
The Uganda Red Cross reports at least 47 confirmed dead and over 300 injured, with the toll expected to rise as rescue teams reach remote sub-counties. Gulu Regional Referral Hospital has been partially damaged and emergency triage centres are being set up at Gulu University.
The UPDF has deployed 2,000 soldiers for search-and-rescue operations. International aid agencies including UNHCR, Red Cross and MSF are mobilising from Kampala.
"This is a tragedy of immense proportions," the President said in a nationally televised address. "I call upon all Ugandans to come together."
