This archive report was first published on 19 December 2019.
Published on December 19, 2019
Heavy rains have been battering Rwanda, prompting the government to evacuate nearly 6,000 residents from high-risk zones.
According to Minister of Local Government Anastase Shyaka, 4,000 of those evacuated are staying with their relatives, while 1,500 are living in government-rented houses and around 300 are temporarily sheltered in schools.
Minister of Environment Jeanne d'Arc Mujawamariya emphasized that disaster management and mitigation measures would still be necessary, even as the heavy rains began to cease in the third week.
The floods and landslides caused by the heavy rains have affected 22 national roads, 42 district roads, and bridges, according to Minister of Infrastructure Claver Gatete.
Official data revealed that extreme weather caused over 250 deaths in Rwanda last year and has left more than 100 people dead, damaged over 5,000 houses, and destroyed more than 9,000 hectares of plantations this year.
Across eastern Africa, at least 280 people have been killed and over 2.8 million others affected by unusually heavy rainfall and flooding by early December, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
