Wed 03 May 2023:
At least 95 people have been killed in western Rwanda in flooding triggered by heavy rains.
François Habitegeko, governor of Rwanda’s Western Province, confirmed the latest death toll, Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday.
“It rained heavily all night, causing immense suffering in the districts of Ngororero, Rubavu, Nyabihu, Rutsiro, and Karongi,” Habitegeko said.
JUST IN
Heavy rains and floods have led to the loss of at least 55 lives in @RwandaWest.#RBANews pic.twitter.com/hGlR7ESNQR
— Rwanda Broadcasting Agency (RBA) (@rbarwanda) May 3, 2023
The hardest-hit districts in the province were Rutsiro, where 26 people died, Nyabihu with 19 killed, and Rubavu and Ngororero with 18 deaths each, he added.
“The soil was already soaked from the previous days of rain, which caused landslides that closed roads,” added the governor.
Habitegeko said the rain started at about 6pm (16:00 GMT) on Tuesday and the River Sebeya burst its banks.
A video clip posted on the state-run Rwanda Broadcasting Agency’s Twitter account showed muddy water running along a road and houses that had been destroyed.
Earlier in the day, government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said 55 people had died.
“Flooding and landslides caused by heavy rains last night in Western Province has caused over 55 deaths,” Makolo told Al Jazeera.
According to the Rwanda Meteorology Agency, the East African nation is expected to receive above-average rainfall in May.
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