Food worries for thousands rendered homeless by heavy rains

Some 5,000 people whose homes were destroyed a week ago after heavy rains in northwestern Burundi urgently need shelter and food aid, local officials said.

Jean Paul Majambere, the administrator of Mugina commune in Cibitoke province, said on 28 April that the rains had destroyed more than 1,000 houses in the area, leaving thousands without shelter or food.

“Serious material damage is still visible; houses are down and crops were completely damaged," Cibitoke governor Zépherin Barutwanayo said.

Barutwanayo, who toured Mugina on 26 April, said the heavy rains had caused extensive damage in several locations in the commune, with Buseruko, Rugajo and parts of Rubona being the most affected.

He said those affected had sought refuge with neighbours whose houses withstood the rains. "Those with strong houses have been spared," he added.

Barutwanayo called on humanitarian agencies and the Ministry of National Solidarity to organise shelter for those rendered homeless who were now exposed to the cold and ongoing heavy rains. The rainy season is expected to continue until mid-May.

However, Godefroid Nyawakira, the officer in charge of humanitarian affairs in the Ministry of National Solidarity, told IRIN on 30 April there was no immediate plan to assist those affected.

"I've not been not informed of the plea from Cibitoke administration; if they appealed for help, their letter has not reached me yet," Nyawakira said.

Governor Barutwanayo had, however, cautioned that the affected Mugina residents were at risk of a "serious" food shortage.

"This agricultural season is simply lost; they were planning to harvest some crops like beans but now all is compromised," he said. "Hectares of yams and cassava are completely lost."

Majambere said the banana plantations, the main source of income for most Mugina residents - from which they brew banana beer sold throughout the country - were "completely wiped out" by the heavy rains.

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