Officials in Northern Province have promised support to victims of last month’s heavy rains that triggered floods and landslides which destroyed thousands of houses. Across the province, over 20 lives were lost and infrastructure that included, Musanze-Cyanika road were damaged, while thousands of hectares of crops destroyed. Reports from Burera District indicate that property worth over Rwf600,000 was damaged by the floods originating from various streams from Muhabura Volcano. Prior to that, some affected farmers from Burera had been guaranteed by different bank loans, amounting to close to Rwf40 million. Rulindo District was hit by landslides the hardest, losing 17 people and property valued at about Rwf200 million. “The floods and landslides experienced in Rulindo will reduce by 30 per cent agricultural export products in the district,” said Prosper Murindwa, the district vice mayor for economic affairs. Some residents from the most hit areas of the Northern Province who spoke to The New Times were apprehensive as most of their crops were destroyed by the floods. However, the province’s governor, Jean Marie Vianney Gatabazi, assured that measures had been taken to mitigate the rains and related disasters. “We calculated the hectares and productivity that can be harvested and will be asking MINAGRI (Ministry of Agriculture) to help us with seeds so that our people can catch up with season C that starts very soon. We are also going to use all measures to make sure that people will not starve,” he said. The Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugees (MIDIMAR) recently provided basic materials, worth Rwf23 million, comprising of tents, blankets, hygiene kits and kitchenware to Burera residents who were affected by floods. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
