By Mike Rwothomio

A destructive hailstorm accompanied by torrential evening rains tore through Warr Town Council in Zombo District on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, deroofing classroom blocks and administrative offices at the government-aided Juloka Primary School and bringing learning to a halt.

The severe weather event struck around 7:30 p.m., ripping off roofs from classroom blocks and the combined offices housing the head teacher, deputy head teacher, staffroom and bookstore.

Scholastic materials, including books and official documents, were destroyed.

Photographs and videos shared by the school administration on Wednesday morning showed learners stranded outside the damaged structures.

Ronald Jawiambe, head teacher of Juloka Primary School, confirmed the extent of the damage in an interview.

“The P.1 classroom has been destroyed and many items like mabati and other scholastic materials. As I talk now, we are in a meeting with some parents here to look for some solution,” he said.

He appealed for urgent support to restore learning for the school’s more than 600 enrolled pupils.

Wilfred Ojok, the LCIII chairperson of Warr Town Council, acknowledged the disaster and stated that the council would forward the matter to relevant authorities. 

Zombo Resident District Commissioner Festus Ayikobua assured residents that a team would be dispatched to assess the damage.

The incident highlights ongoing challenges in local disaster response.

Many local governments continue to struggle with limited funding from the central government for emergency preparedness and recovery.

This latest weather-related disaster follows a similar severe event on the afternoon of Sunday, 2 August 2026, when torrential rainfall and a destructive hailstorm struck Alangi in Zombo District. 

The storm battered the parishes of Gamba, Ambele, Angar and Ndara. Floods in parts of Pasaye Parish swept away an unspecified number of cows and goats, as well as crops including beans, maize and cassava, into streams and flooded valleys.

Historically, dense vegetation in Zombo District offered a natural buffer against extreme weather.

Since the early 2000s, however, widespread deforestation and the depletion of forest reserves have increased the area’s vulnerability to hailstorms, floods and strong winds.

Local environmentalists attribute the amplified impacts of climate-induced hazards to this environmental degradation.

Previous incidents include rain and hailstorms that devastated crop fields in Padea Town Council, and a 2024 event in which intense torrential rains and hailstorms hit Abanga Sub-County, affecting the parishes of Serr and Pakadha and destroying crops vital to local food security.

The district disaster management committee has repeatedly raised concerns over inadequate funding, which hampers effective preparedness and response and leaves communities increasingly exposed to recurring climate-related hazards.

The September to December (SOND) 2026 seasonal climate outlook for Uganda, released by the Ministry of Water and Environment through its Department of Meteorological Services, projects near-normal to above-normal rainfall across most of the country, accompanied by warmer-than-average temperatures.

The outlook is influenced by a rapidly intensifying El Niño episode and a positive Indian Ocean Dipole phase.

Meteorological models indicate a 45 percent probability of near-normal conditions and more than a 40 percent chance of above-normal (wetter than average) rainfall, raising the likelihood of enhanced rainfall and associated disaster risks in the coming months.Trail of destruction

Mike Rwothomio is news editor at Zoomer Africa, your number one grassroot information hub for African news trends and updates.