Highlights: In Rwanda, the death toll from Tuesday's floods rose to 131 dead, 94 injured and more than 5,500 homes destroyed. Among the harshly impacted infrastructures, roads are for some completely impassable. This makes cleaning complicated, as well as the return of some locals. In the Western Province, on the stretch between the towns of Rubavu and Rutsiro, traffic is gradually resuming. The cleaning of the buildings continues, to restore them to working order.

In Rwanda, the death toll from Tuesday's floods rose to 131 dead, 94 injured and more than 5,500 homes destroyed. Among the harshly impacted infrastructures, roads are for some completely ...

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Floods in Rwanda: infrastructure hit hard

Audio 01:26

Residents try to clean roads after flooding in Rwanda, here in Rubavu, May 3, 2023 © Jean Bizimana/Reuters

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

In Rwanda, the death toll from Tuesday's floods rose to 131 dead, 94 injured and more than 5,500 homes destroyed. Among the harshly impacted infrastructures, roads are for some completely impassable. This makes cleaning complicated, as well as the return of some locals. In the Western Province, on the stretch between the towns of Rubavu and Rutsiro, traffic is gradually resuming.

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With our special correspondent in Rubavu, Lucie Mouillaud

Three days after the floods, Jean-Baptiste is eager to return home to the district of Rutsiro:

I went to Gisenyi on Tuesday and the rain fell. So, I waited for things to work out to go home. Where I live, there are landslides, it has destroyed the houses of several neighbors. But in my house, we are still alive and we thank God for that. »

But the journey will be longer than expected: the taxi, mired in one of the many stretches of the road still covered by landslides, forces passengers to get out. Among them, Sosten:

We arrived there and the taxi slipped, it almost fell into the channel, explains this carpenter who returns for the first time to his workshop. You see that the mud prevents us from riding. So, we had to stop to see if we can remove it.

On many passages, the tarmac is still completely covered by earth and mud fallen from the surrounding hills. Rubble, rocks, trees clog up certain portions of the tracks: construction workers are busy cleaning the road.

For us, what was difficult was access to the road, explains a worker. Now the road is 60% functional. I think that on Monday it will be cleaned completely, if there is no new bad weather.

According to government figures, 9 of the 14 weather-damaged national roads have been restored.

The colossal work of cleaning buildings

In the meantime, the cleaning of the buildings continues, to restore them to working order. A colossal work in the areas most impacted by bad weather, especially in the diocese of Nyundo, a few kilometers from the city of Rubavu.

In single file, a group of parishioners carry bags filled with mud coming out of the church. In the diocese, everything has been ravaged by mudslides: furniture, computers, archives, equipment from carpentry and sewing workshops.

The priority now is cleanliness, being able to clear the mud, explains the priest and bursar Etienne Izimenera. And after that, we will try to clean the walls, from the inside out, and after that, we will see. Another step would be to look for equipment and machinery to continue the work.

In the minor seminary, several hundred boarding children were transferred to new temporary dormitories while the buildings were cleaned. A long-term work, while the water flooded the buildings again the day before, two nights after the first rains.

For the rector of the minor seminary, Father Jean-Bosco Nyribakwe, the important thing is to secure the area: "Tonight, what we are going to do, we have already ordered bags, we are going to put sand, and with that, we can temporarily block, or at least disorient the water.

Outside the minor seminary church, Bibles lie on the ground, completely destroyed by mud. The rector hopes that everything will be cleaned and ready in a week, so that the students can return to their dormitories.

Residents now want to try to clean up flood-ravaged buildings - Report

Lucie Mouillaud

► Read also: Rwanda: after floods, thousands of refugees try to shelter in camps

Floods in Rwanda: infrastructure hit hard

Floods in Rwanda: infrastructure hit hard

The colossal work of cleaning buildings

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