Rwanda Water Resources Board is set to establish telemetry stations to monitor the trends or peak flow of rivers, drainages and other flood hotspots as part of early warning systems aimed at minimizing the likely impacts of floods and plan for flood-resilient infrastructure. According to Davis Bugingo, the Ag.Director of Allocation and regulations at the Rwanda Water Resources Board, the stations will be recording and transmitting signals of peak flow (trend of increasing floods level). “The real time data obtained in 15 minutes will be followed by automated alerts that can be sent via text on phones, emails and others when water levels of rivers and drainages exceed predefined limits or level so that people pay attention, escape danger and rescue what is possible,” he explained. The floods monitoring stations are going to start with Mpazi drainage and Nyabugogo River in Kigali city as the installation of the stations is going on, he said. In Kigali city, the flood hotspots to get telemetry stations include Mpazi drainage, Nyabugogo River (Giti cyinyoni), Rugunga, Gisozi, Remera, Karuruma, Kanogo, Mulindi, Rwandex and others. Mpazi drainage and Nyabugogo River have been sinking Nyabugogo businesses into losses during the rainy season. “Then we will be able to inform on how to build resilient infrastructure to floods and infrastructure that curb floods in Kigali city in the next years according to the 2050 city master plan,” he said. The drainage will also be widened to improve the resilience of the Nyabugogo area under the cost of Rwf2.5 billion and thus cushion businesses against losses. Reports show that in Rwanda, losses occasioned by flooding are equivalent to $13 million annually and Rwf204 billion occasioned by all combined disasters in general. Bugingo said that the flood warning or modelling system on ‘floods hotspots’ will also help policy makers to plan. “The construction of infrastructure such as houses, drainage channels, roads and bridges that are resilient to floods in future based on the floods projections,” Bugingo pointed out, adding that hydropower plants also need to know projected water levels in the rivers and lakes. Other major rivers to receive telemetry stations include Nyabarongo, Mukungwa, Sebeya, Akanyaru, Akagera, Muvumba and others that usually overflow during the rainy seasons.
