The recent floods in downtown Kampala felt like a nightmare that refused to end. Within  a few hours, the vibrant heart of Nakivubo and its surrounding ecological water catchment zones was swallowed by a violent surge of brown and greenish sludge. Businesses that once brimmed with life were reduced to watery graves, and the most heart-wrenching scenes emerged from the basements, where so many young entrepreneurs had planted their dreams.

I am still struggling to process the horror. The constant stream of pictures and videos continues to haunt me. One particular before-and-after clip replays in my mind. It showed an entire underground level, staircase and all, engulfed beneath murky water. A helpless shop owner pointed at the flood, explaining that his phone shop was number 6 inside the submerged basement. Later, when the floodwater had been sucked out by cesspool trucks, all that remained were soggy piles of muddy, slimy, smelly phones. The sight was devastating, a cruel reminder of how fragile our livelihoods are when nature breaks through the floor.

This catastrophe forces us to confront a painful question, one that refuses to go away. Should buildings in flood zones have basements?

Some argue that basements were meant for cars, not shops, but this offers no comfort. Whether basements hold merchandise or vehicles, the outcome is the same when they lie below ground level or below flood level. The flood does not discriminate, it takes everything. Cars drown, businesses drown, hope drowns. This raises an urgent concern. Should any habitable or operational spaces exist beneath ground level in flood-prone valleys at all? Engineers must guide us because what we witnessed was no accident. It was a warning.

In another video after the water subsided, viewers could see that the force of the raging torrent had gouged a terrifying trench beneath the foundation of a flooded building. A dark canyon carved by water where concrete once held firm. That is not just damage. That is a threat, a ticking disaster waiting to deepen when the next rain arrives. Floods rarely come only once. They return to feast on cities that ignore them. And every time the water returns, that haunting question grows louder. Should buildings in flood zones have basements?

A chilling thought hangs over all these scenes. What if this flood had struck during daytime? Imagine hundreds of workers deep inside their commercial basement spaces. Imagine motorists stuck in their cars downtown. The fury of that water would have crushed them, caught off guard, shoving people against walls and dragging cars like toys. We might be counting bodies. We might be mourning an even darker tragedy.

One commentator suggested that before any development begins in a flood basin, a minimum two-year feasibility study should be carried out. Water volumes, drainage patterns and entry points must be carefully mapped throughout rainy seasons. It is frightening that such analysis is often brushed aside in places where people gamble with their lives for profit.

I am convinced that the infrastructural issues surrounding the Nakivubo floods are rooted in politics mixed with impunity and greed. Yet no one is ever held accountable. People could die in basements and still the city points fingers into the mist. And the water is soon coming back, then the question will be raised again like a ghost. Should buildings in flood zones have basements?

The rainy season is not over. This nightmare is not finished. If you are considering renting a commercial space, do not take chances below ground level, especially near valleys and water channels. Visit the Real Estate Database (RED) today and choose a commercial space located outside any flood-risk zone, or speak to a RED agent before signing any lease. Do it before the next raincloud bursts, before the wet season unleashes its next cruel offering on the unlucky souls sealed below street level. Because the question never sleeps. Should buildings in flood zones have basements?

To every downtown hustler and basement worker, hear this. The rainy season is still raging. City leaders must create evacuation zones and safe passages so traders are not trapped below when the next torrent arrives. Preparation is the only thin wall between survival and disaster. By the time the next wave roars through the channels, we pray that someone will finally have answered the question that hangs over Kampala like a storm. Should buildings in flood zones have basements? Do not say you were never warned.