Updates from Rwanda’s national broadcaster, Rwanda Broadcasting Agency, reveal that the death toll from heavy rains in the country has risen to 72.
According to Rwanda’s Minister in charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA), Marie Solange Kayisire, the victims were killed by floods and landslides triggered by the rains.
Kayisire, who spoke during a live news program on Rwanda Television, adds that the worst affected areas includes districts of Gakenke, Musanze, Rubavu, Muhanga, Ngororero and Rulindo. 23 of those killed were from Gakenke district.
In March, the Rwanda Meteorology Agency (RMA) issued a forecast warning of above-average rainfall during the long rain season. Citizens were urged by MINEMA to take extra caution and check the conditions of their houses and roofs and avoid water bodies during the rain.
The East African region has been hit by heavy rains and floods this year. On Wednesday, the Kenyan government announced that 194 people had been killed with more than 100,000 others displaced by heavy rains and floods in the last three weeks.
In Western Uganda’s Kasese town, people were forced to flee for safety after a river burst its banks while an emergency evacuation of patients in a nearby hospital was necessitated.