Flooding triggered by torrential rains cause ‘immense suffering’ in several districts in Rwanda’s Western Province.
The death toll in the flooding in western Rwanda has gone up to 127, according to the office of President Paul Kagame, as a rescue operation is under way to reach stranded people amid torrential rains.
“Rescue interventions are ongoing in the most affected districts … in order to secure endangered citizens,” Kagame’s office said in a statement on Wednesday.
The hardest-hit districts in the province were Rutsiro, where at least 26 people died, Nyabihu with 19 killed, and Rubavu and Ngororero with 18 deaths each, he added.
Habitegeko said the rain started at about 6pm (16:00 GMT) on Tuesday and the River Sebeya burst its banks. “The soil was already soaked from the previous days of rain, which caused landslides that closed roads,” added the governor.
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.
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