BUJUMBURA, April 25th (ABP) – The Director General of Civil Protection and Disaster Management, Mr Anicet Nibaruta, held a meeting of the national platform for risk prevention and disaster management at the headquarters of the Burundi Red Cross on 22 April 2024. The meeting brought together the governors of the provinces of Bujumbura and Rumonge, representatives of local and international NGOs involved in emergency management, religious denominations and civil society.
The items on the agenda focused on urgent action to be taken to help the victims of the landslide that occurred on 20 April 2024 on Gabaniro hill in Muhuta commune (south-west Burundi) in the current province of Rumonge, the evacuation of households in Gatumba and assistance to be given to victims of the effects of the EL-Nino phenomenon on the coast of Lake Tanganyika.
In his presentation, Désiré Habonimana of the Red Cross said that it was a fact that many families had been displaced by the landslide, which killed a three-year-old child, left 2,485 people homeless, destroyed 375 houses and more than 700 hectares of crops.
Mr. Habonimana pointed out that, as soon as that sad reality was announced, the Burundi Red Cross provided the displaced people with food assistance consisting of boxes of soap and a few bags of rice to alleviate their suffering. He added that the displaced people also needed various kits, latrines, drinking water supplies and awareness-raising on diseases with epidemic potential.
During the discussions, Mr Nibaruta wanted to know what requests had been made to the emergency managers to support the households affected by that painful event. The governors present at the meeting said that housing for the displaced, the construction of an emergency health post, access to drinking water and the identification of relocation sites were needed.
For those in the Gatumba area, they proposed evacuating them, paying rental fees and setting up relocation sites.
The Director General of Civil Protection and Disaster Management asked the UNICEF representatives to provide material support for the children from Gatumba so that they could continue their classes like so many others.
That landslide comes just days after the Burundian government appealed to the international community for help in coping with the effects of climate change.