Heavy Rains Leave 65 Dead in Rwanda

Authorities in Rwanda have revealed that up to 65 people have been killed by heavy rains that hit different parts of the country on the night of Wednesday, causing landslides and mud slides.

Officials also fear that the rains risk worsening the Corona Virus in the country as people are forced to seek shelter in government camps where enforcement of measures to curb the spread of the virus are hard to implement.

Rwanda currently has 268 cases of Corona virus with active cases standing at 138.

“Heavy rains across the country overnight caused a lot of damage. We have Thursday evening managed to count 65 people as dead due to landslides and floods,” Rwanda’s Emergency Management ministry said.

The number of the dead is expected to increase as the rescue services continue search for survivors and clear the debris.

Officials also said, the rain destroyed a number of infrastructure including 91 houses, 49 hectares of agricultural fields, water treatment plants, road and bridges.

Rwanda Meteorological Agency (RMA) in March had predicted an above-average rainfall through May.

There have been a number of deadly mudslides caused by heavy this year in Rwanda, with up to 40 people being killed in the month of April.

In recent years, the government has moved some people out of areas designated as high risk.

Rwanda last year lost 117 citizens to disasters including lightning, floods, mine disaster, and house collapse, among others.

The previous year, the country lost double this number, and the government officials said that was bad enough to trigger action against disasters however little has been done.