Torrential rains and flash floods have hammered several parts of Kigali city and its outskirts, causing extensive power outages, and destroying properties and infrastructures, municipal authorities have said on Thursday.
The damage is particularly acute in Kicukiro and Nyarugenge, the two major urban districts in the city.
According to city authorities, Nyabugogo, one of the crowded market suburbs has been one of the hardest hit thanks to its topography and lack of an efficient drainage system.
Many streets and sidewalks had been flooded and pedestrians had to leap over water to move around the city.
The downpours triggered mudslides in some areas of Kigali city, damaging houses and roads.
Beyond Kigali city, traffic was interrupted on some highway due to landslides across rural districts, according to the police.
From January to April this year alone, at least 140 people have died of weather disasters, according to data from the Ministry of Emergency Management.
Official reports indicate that over 3,100 hectares of crops were washed away by floodwaters and 3,082 houses damaged, leaving thousands of families displaced.
Climate Change experts have said that the latest effects of flood hazards in Rwanda have worsened as recent population growth and land scarcity pushed people to settle in flood-prone areas.
Climate change is bringing more irregular and unpredictable rainfall patterns with shorter rainy seasons to the largely rain-fed agriculture sector.
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CU/as/APA