January 20th (AMSP/CGTN) – – Thousands of people in Burundi have been displaced by flooding caused by overflowing waters of Lake Tanganyika. Villages on the shores of the lake are among the hardest hit.
Many families living in temporary shelters and in difficult conditions are unable to return home. They are being sheltered by host communities whose resources are also running out.
The town of Gatumba in Bujumbura’s Mutimbuzi commune has been suffering the shocks of climate change for almost 10 years.
Rising waters of Lake Tanganyika as well as those of the Rusizi River, submerged villages and parts of the town.
Fearing for their lives, residents fled, seeking refuge in makeshift camps where the living conditions are far from ideal.
“We fled from the water that destroyed our houses. A samaritan put us up here. We can’t go home because the water is up to our chests, the river burst its banks. It’s impossible to rebuild. Here, we don’t have enough to eat and very little to wear. We’re outside, when it rains, we all get wet, ” Suzanne Ntakarutimana, a displaced person told CGTN.
The number of those displaced is likely to worsen as the lake’s water levels continue to rise. Some of those who sought help from host families are increasingly becoming vulnerable as resources are already strained.
“We were invaded by water. We had to look for a dryer place . A neighbour gave us this space at this Mushasha 1 neighbourhood. We’ve been here for 5 years. But then it rained again, the water flooded the whole neighbourhood. This time it even washed away our house. Now we have nothing to rebuild our house with,” said Pascasie Niyibizi, another displaced person.
Those displaced want the government to build a dam to contain the flooding. “After many years of service, since 1994, I saved a lot of money, until I retired in 2015. I used the money to build a house, but it has just been washed away by the floods. The government should build a dyke, after that, Gatumba area will be saved. Otherwise, our area, and in particular the Mushasha 1 district, will still be submerged,” said Gerard Shamuruvugo, head of camp.
Authorities say construction of a dyke would require immense resources, that can only be funded by donors. The government has also suggested relocating the displaced, but having been moved from one shelter to another multiple times, they ask for permanent solutions.
Burundi, like many other countries, is dealing with extreme weather conditions. Last April and May, torrential rains spurred by the El Niño weather phenomenon hit the eastern Africa nation, displacing even more people.
According to the UN, the floods and disasters have left more than 306,000 people in need of emergency humanitarian assistance in the country.
amsp/cgtn-abp
CGTN