In Rwanda, torrential rains that fell overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday caused flooding affecting the west and north of the country. In the district of Rubavu, the most affected by the floods, the inhabitants bury their dead. The disaster claimed 130 lives, according to the deputy government spokesman. Five people are missing and still wanted, and 77 others were injured, 36 of whom were still hospitalized Thursday morning.
In Rubavu district, now is the time to mourn the victims of these deadly floods. Here, after a first burial of twelve people yesterday, Wednesday, thirteen coffins were buried this Thursday morning, in the village of Rugerero in Rubavu district reports our special correspondent to Rubavu, Lucie Mouillaud.
Faces closed, several hundred people – families of the victims, inhabitants of the surrounding villages – gathered in silence in front of the wooden coffins covered with a white shroud and a cross in the name of the victims, in front of the Prime Minister, Édouard Ngirente , visiting the areas affected by the floods.
The district of Rubavu was largely impacted by the bad weather which surprised the populations in their sleep on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. Everywhere along the main road, completely destroyed houses are visible. In Mahoko in particular, a village about ten kilometers from the town of Rubavu, where the Sebaya river has come out of its bed, and still floods some of the houses today.
If the main road is still passable, one of the tracks has been washed away for a short portion, and some secondary tracks, leading inside the villages, are nothing more than a long mudslide. The inhabitants are now busy cleaning up the damage with shovels to remove the debris in the villages and recover what remains to be saved in their homes. Many are now staying in one of the reception centers for the displaced set up by the authorities, until a more permanent solution can be found.
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Seasonal rains, particularly heavy this year, also caused damage in Uganda. Six people were killed in the village of Biizi and the inhabitants themselves dig in a mudslide to try to free the houses sometimes covered up to the roof by the landslide.