Nyabihu rains: Death toll rises to fifteen

Five more people were yesterday found dead, raising the death toll to fifteen in the aftermath of Wednesday’s heavy rains that hit Nyabihu District in Western Province.Earlier, ten people had been pronounced dead after torrential rains, lately pounding the East African region, ravaged the districts of Nyabihu and Rubavu. Thousands of homes and crops were destroyed as well.Yesterday, officials had managed to identify of the dead who include Therese Mukagatare, Immaculee Nyirambandwa, Innocent Irakiza, Vincent Irakiza, and Xavier Ruyenzi. Others were only identified as Shakeri, Manirunva, Manishimwe, Irankunda, Uwihoreye, NiyibiziGovernment officials and other organizations have started evaluating the damage to see how emergence relief can be allocated to the victims.Charles Ngirabatware, the Mayor of Nyabihu, said: “Some people have started offering their support on top of the Frw8 million raised by the district.“We have received 400 tents from Red Cross, Paul Muvunyi of SOPHYRWA donated land where these people are going to be resettled.He added that Bishop John Rucyahana of the Episcopal Church also donated beddings for all the people that have been displaced.The displaced people have been settled in Kijote cell, Bigogwe sector.Officials from both Ministries of Environment and Infrastructure have been to the site where the displaced people are going to be resettled to see how government would help in the construction of new houses.The Minister of Local Government, Protais Musoni who is among those that visited the troubled victims promised to provide them with iron sheets for the construction of the new houses.Other ministers who visited the district after the disaster include; Prof Laurent Nkusi (Information), Christine Nyatanyi (State Minister for Social Welfare) and State Minister for Environment, Patricia Hajabakiga.The rains which struck in Bigogwe sector Wednesday afternoon left 562 houses washed out.“It has subsided but the sky is not yet clear so any time it can strike again,” Ngirabatware said.Ngirabatware blamed the heavy rains on the destruction of Gishwati Forest.“The land is bare because the forest was destructed by cultivators and herdsmen… that is why the rains flow into people’s houses undeterred,” he said.Gishwati Forest in north western part of the country is one of the most severely deforested areas in Rwanda. Formerly covering 21,000 ha before 1981, it had been reduced to only 600 ha by 2002.Nyabihu, which according to Ngirabatware supplies over 70 percent of Irish potatoes consumed countrywide, has had almost all of the plantations devastated by the heavy rains.“The situation is worrying; hundreds of hectares of potato plantations have been washed out by the rains,” he said.But in a separate interview Musoni told Reuters:”We are undertaking some emergency measures, taking those displaced to drier areas and providing them with medical care and food.”Ends

National

Nyabihu rains: Death toll rises to fifteen