Attachments
Date of event
06-05-2023
What happened, where and when?
From 1 to 6 May, Rwanda experienced continuous torrential rains, which caused major damage in several districts of the country. According to assessments carried out by the Rwanda Red Cross and other stakeholders and MINEMA led, the western, northern and southern provinces of Rwanda were the areas hardest hit by the flooding. Overall, 14 districts experienced flooding and landslides affecting around 51,905 people in 10,381 households. A total of 137 people died, and 5,472 houses were destroyed. Damage reported includes major losses of houses, basic household items, unusable water sources, latrines and roads. The destruction of thousands of hectares of crops and livestock was immense. Those affected were gathered together in IDP sites. The needs were enormous and the vulnerabilities high. The rains continued until June 2023.
To contribute to the humanitarian response, the Rwanda Red Cross (RRCS) has received a DREF (Disaster Response Emergency Fund) with the support of the IFRC. Emergency response activities have been carried out until 31 October 2023 by Red Cross staff and volunteers. This report presents the results.
Scope and Scale
The impact of floods has never been that huge for the past 3 to 5 years in Rwanda with significant loss of lives reported across the districts. Maximum rainfall usually recorded in past floods events varied between 60.88mm, 35.6mm and 44.9mm while the National meteorological agency reported rainfall of 110 to 130 mm leading to the dire situation experienced on the 3rd May 2023.
The damages, losses and deaths recorded across the 14 districts hardly hit, were huge. Information reported by branches on 3rd stated 7,684 households were evacuated (with over 38,000 people) as a result of the destroyed or heavily damaged houses.
As access improved, the RRCS carried out an assessment which confirmed that 14 districts were affected and that the western and northern provinces were the most affected. The main figures on the impact of the disaster gathered by the RRC are shown below.
In Western Province, 6 districts with significant impact are Rubavu, Nyabihu, Ngororero, Karongi, Rutsiro, Nyamasheke. The assessment also revealed that 4,933 were destroyed houses, 3,292 were at risk while the total affected HHs were 8,225, (People in affected HHs 41,125 - Male: 19,946, Female 21,179, including Children under 5: 5,305).
In Northern Province, 4 districts mostly affected were: Gakenke (with the highest number of houses at risk), Burera, Musanze, Gicumbi. Important figures include destroyed houses 507, houses being at risk 1,412, total affected HHs 1,919, People in affected HHs 9,595, Male: 4,654, Female 4,941, including Children under 5. 1,239. Southern Province recorded the less impact with only 32 houses destroyed, 205 houses being at risk, and total affected HHs 237, People in affected HHs (1,185 Male: 574, Female 611, Children under 5: 153). Four districts being of concern based on the above figures are Nyamagabe, Muhanga, Ruhango, Nyanza.
The floods brought huge landslides and houses collapsed in several areas, leading to the loss of lives of 137 people.
Needs were high and the impact was the worst faced by the country in the past 4 years. In addition, the people's livelihoods were highly impacted with livestock deaths, number of hectors of crops destroyed, food stocks and households destroyed and merged with mud. Some of the market supply system was particularly not functional due to damaged roads to the marketplaces and shops. In addition, in different regions of the country, public infrastructures were affected: 8 national roads, 9 district roads and 26 bridges were damaged. 6 Water Treatment Plants flooded and not functional; 8 health facilities (2 health Posts, 5 health centers and 1 hospital (Shyira) were affected. Affected populations were gathered in displacement sites, but through government actions these people were assisted and the sites were closed before the end of the DREF operation on 31 October 2023.