3″ May “2023” Aljazeera
The death toll in the flooding in western Rwanda has gone up to 127, according to the office of President Paul Kagame, as a rescue operation is under way to reach stranded people amid torrential rains.
“Rescue interventions are ongoing in the most affected districts … in order to secure endangered citizens,” Kagame’s office said in a statement on Wednesday
Six people were also killed overnight in neighbouring Uganda, in the mountainous southwestern Kisoro district, the Uganda Red Cross said.
François Habitegeko, governor of Rwanda’s Western Province, said, “It rained heavily all night, causing immense suffering in the districts of Ngororero, Rubavu, Nyabihu, Rutsiro, and Karongi
The hardest-hit districts in the province were Rutsiro, where at least 26 people died, Nyabihu with 19 killed, and Rubavu and Ngororero with 18 deaths each, he added
This could be the highest disaster-induced death toll to be recorded in the country in the shortest period, according to available records from recent years,” the government-backed New Times newspaper reported.
The Rwanda Meteorology Agency has warned that more rain is coming.
Earlier in the day, government spokesperson Yolande Makolo said 55 people had died.
According to the Rwanda Meteorology Agency, the East African nation is expected to receive above-average rainfall in May