BUJUMBURA, March 12th (ABP) – Natural disasters such as floods and landslides pose a serious threat to many families in Burundi. Therefore, sufficient resources must be made available for prevention work to reduce the number of victims. This was said by Athanase Nkunzimana, a researcher and professor at the University of Burundi and an expert in risk prevention and disaster management, speaking on the occasion of World Civil Protection Day, which was celebrated on March 7, 2025.
According to Nkunzimana, the more climate change increases, the greater the influx of natural disasters, adding that even though several prevention projects have been implemented, there are still gaps and there is still a long way to go. According to him, Burundi is among the 20 countries most affected by the consequences of natural disasters, stressing that the areas that are flood-prone are mainly those on the shores of Lake Tanganyika (Bujumbura, Rumonge and Nyanza-lac), but also certain internal neighborhoods of the city of Bujumbura such as Buterere and Winterekwa, which are threatened by runoff waters from the Kinyankonge and Cari rivers. He also indicated that even in the interior of the country, river waters threaten crops and have a negative impact on the country’s economy and the daily life of the local population in terms of food insecurity.
The problem is not that Burundi is among the countries most threatened by natural disasters, but rather results from its power to manage them, which is very weak. Simple rainfall causes damage, while in other countries with sufficient resources, rainwater from lakes and rivers does not cause any problems because they have planned and prepared everything to prevent these dangers, he pointed out. “There are regions where rainfall is five times ours without causing any damage,” he revealed, adding that financial and technical means of prevention must be put in place to address those challenges.
Mr. Nkunzimana also demonstrated that construction in some new neighborhoods in the city of Bujumbura has not followed the rules or soil studies, which increases vulnerability to natural disasters. He noted that these neighborhoods lack roads or gutters to drain rainwater and household water, which only worsens the damage. To that end, he recommended that various sectors involved use the already available multi-risk mapping to locate risk areas and protect the people living there, preventing them from carrying out work in these areas.
According to him, there is a need for a national policy on this matter, to demarcate agricultural zones and zones reserved for construction in order to put an end to the disorder; this will also contribute to achieving the country’s vision, he said.