Heavy Rain, Floods Kill At Least 136 In Rwanda, Uganda

By Staff, Agencies

Flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rain have killed at least 129 people in Rwanda and six in Uganda, authorities said on Wednesday, as rescuers hunted survivors trapped in homes.

In chaotic scenes after weeks of rain in the region, one video clip posted by the state-owned Rwanda Broadcasting Agency showed muddy water gushing down an inundated road and destroying houses.

In a statement, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said his government was helping affected people, including with temporary relocations.

In a mountainous area of neighboring Uganda near the border with Rwanda, six people died overnight into Wednesday in the southwestern Kisoro district, the Uganda Red Cross said.

Five were from one family, and emergency workers had begun excavations to retrieve the bodies, it added in a statement.

Rwanda and Uganda have been experiencing heavy and sustained rains since late March.

Landslides have been reported in other elevated areas of Uganda, like Kasese near the Rwenzori mountains, where deluges and floods destroyed homes and displaced hundreds.