A motorcycle rider ferries arabica coffee cherries in Kamu town council, Bulambuli district, eastern Uganda, April 28, 2018. The Ugandan government has warned resident around Mt. Elgon and Rwenzori to vacate the steep slopes following the ongoing torrential rains. (Xinhua/Daniel Edyegu)

KAMPALA, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Ongoing heavy rains in mountainous eastern Uganda have left over 150,000 people homeless, a top government official said on Friday.

Musa Ecweru, minister of state for disaster preparedness and refugees, told Xinhua in an interview that the people are now staying in schools and churches in the low lands in fear of landslides that have already occurred in some areas.

"They are displaced because while the landslide has happened, the crack that has been witnessed over the years on Mountain Elgon seems to be widening and that presents a very big worry to the community," Ecweru said.

Landslides on Wednesday evening occurred in Manafwa district, ravaging five villages, and leaving crops, livestock and houses destroyed.

A similar landslide occurred in neighboring Bududa district also destroying crops and property about two weeks ago.

"The community has to be removed from all possible danger on the slopes and taken to areas which are relatively safe even if it means putting them in some kind of a camp for a time being as we plan how to resettle them," Ecweru added.

He said government is working with humanitarian agencies to provide relief aid to the displaced families.

"We are also conscious of the fact that putting people together can compromise sanitation and present a possibility of cholera," he said.

"We are working with Directors of District Health Services to ensure that communities which are displaced if it is possible are absorbed within the host families and then we support them from there."

According to the meteorological department, the torrential rains will subside mid next month.

The Mountain Elgon ranges have experienced a spate of landslides. In March 2010, a major landslide occurred in Bududa, killing at least 200 people and leaving thousands of others homeless.