More than 250 families in Gatumba zone of Mutimbuzi commune in western Bujumbura are homeless. Their houses were destroyed following the heavy rain that has fallen since 10 April.
The houses destroyed in Muyange area following the torrential rain
The large part of Gatumba area is flooded. The locals no longer go about their daily activities because for some, their homes were destroyed while others are still flooded and their household items soaked. The children cry because they are hungry while their parents are busy digging gutters to channel the water that has stagnated before the houses that have not been destroyed. Gatumba people seem hopeless.
“The rain has just fallen three days in a row. Our houses are flooded. The mattresses are very wet. Our children neither sleep nor get food. They are hungry and tired, “says Nahishakiye Riziki, a resident of Muyange whose house is flooded.
She indicates that toilet waste is mixed with rain water. She is afraid that her children might have caught infectious diseases. She calls for help. “Humanitarians should come and take us to a different place,” says Mrs. Nakici. “I currently live in my neighbor’s house. My notebooks, sheets, mattresses have all been washed away by the flood,” says Gérard Niyonzima, another Kinyika resident whose family’s house was destroyed.
Hussein Ntahetwa, Gatumba zone chief, says the nine areas that compose Gatumba zone got flooded due to a torrential rain that has fallen since 10 April. “We have recorded more than 250 houses destroyed and over 450 others flooded,” says Ntahetwa. He indicates that the most affected areas are Muyange, Kinyinya, Mushasha as well as Gaharawe. This local chief calls on the government and humanitarian organizations to assist the victims.
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