By Mark Ellis
At least 100 people were killed by torrential rains, flooding, and landslides in Burundi, with homes swept away, roads decimated, and many left without power.
The rains began on the evening of February 9th, and caused flooding in the northern areas surrounding the capital of Bujumbura.
“Over 1000 houses were destroyed by heavy stones and water, and 11,000 people are homeless,” says Deogratias Niyonzima, president of Christian Community Development of Burundi, based in Bujumbura. “Survivors have been put in one place where plastic sheeting has been prepared to help them during this hard time,” he says.
Officials said the government would pay for hospital treatment for those injured and for the burial of victims.
Homes in the poorest sections of Bujumbura are often made of mud bricks, which offered no resistance to the massive deluge of water and mud. Bujumbura is on a relatively flat plain between the hills and Lake Tanganyika.
“These people are in great need of water, blankets, food and medication,” Niyonzima says. “The big question for
the survivors is housing. Please pray for us.”
Two days of national mourning were declared Tuesday.
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