BUJUMBURA December 30th (ABP) – The torrential rain that fell on the night of December 21 to 22, 2019 hit the Buterere zone of Ntahangwa commune where it caused several material damages, a check on the site by ABP has revealed on Friday December 27, 2019, with the chief of Buterere zone Mr. Erneste Nduwimana during an interview he gave to the ABP.
According to him, 5 out of 9 neighborhoods were affected by the inundation. He cited the neighborhoods Buterere 1, Buterere 2a, Buterere 2b, Kabusa and Mugaruro. Regarding the damage record, he said that 30 houses were completely destroyed, 67 houses were partially destroyed, 1221 houses inundated and 553 displaced people were left homeless.
He also pointed out that there are not many devastated crops, however a small area for growing rice and cabbage has been affected by the diversion of water from the Mutimbuzi River.
Mr. Nduwimana also said that among the destroyed houses are the toilets, which explains the danger linked to dirty hands diseases threatens the people of that place.
Faced with that situation, he launched an appeal to the Burundi Red Cross for detoxification of the environment in order to protect against dirty hands diseases. Other actions were carried out in particular the displacement of homeless people at the mobile basic school and in the premises which housed the Mutimbuzi commune in Mubone before its migration as well as the identification of people (men, women and children) in need of help.
Regarding urgent needs, Mr. Nduwimana called on the ministries having solidarity and civil protection in their responsibility to come to the aid of the people affected by the inundation by granting them tents to shelter the homeless, food and the non-food items, as well as the sheet metals to support the people who will be able to build the frame of their house.
The chief of Buterere zone deplores that his zone is downstream compared to the other districts of Bujumbura City Council and worse still the designers of the servicing of the districts of all the zone did not envisage a canalization so that during the rain period the damage is still there. He added that the people of the Buterere zone is sensitized, when the rain falls, the inhabitants of the zones sensitive to the inundation, leave to go to settle where the situation is better that’s why there have been no loss of life even though the houses were completely destroyed.
