Landslide kills one in Gasabo after heavy rain

One person was killed and another escaped with injuries when a rock rolled onto the house they were sleeping in, in Kimihurura, Gasabo district.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

One person was killed and another escaped with injuries when a rock rolled onto the house they were sleeping in, in Kimihurura, Gasabo district.The Monday night downpour loosened soil that supported the rock, leaving it to roll onto the house in which Noel Gakuru and his housemate Dominique Habimana were sleeping. The former died on the spot while the latter is admitted to Kibagabaga Hospital.The deceased is the second victim of rockslides from a perimeter fencing."I am scared of sleeping in any house here as this fence has again killed a person,” said Claire Mugwaneza whose house also borders the fence.Residents said local leaders had previously asked a landlord, whose wall fence collapsed, to repair it in vain."He never listens to me as a neighbour or the village leaders, even when the first person died in 2011, he did not repair the fence,” Mugwaneza said.Nyiridandi Mapambano, the executive secretary of Kimuhurura sector, said the matter has been reported to the landlord’s superiors in the militaryResidents at the risky zone have also been urged to relocate, Mapambano said.About 150 families from  Urwego, Ubumwe and Intwambwe a.k.a Kosovo villages in Kimihurura cell have been asked to relocate from the area, which has been marked as a high-risk zone.However, the residents said they are too poor to relocate on their own. "I know staying here is risky, but I am waiting for the roofing materials and a plot, wherever they will tell me to go, I will,” said Viateur Iyamuremye, a father of five whose house also succumbed to the Monday night-long downpour.Meanwhile, all tenants in the three villages have been asked to stop paying rent and await to relocate. The total cost for the relocation of residents living in Kigali suburbs deemed vulnerable to natural disasters could shoot to Rwf56 billion, officials said.