Flooding wreaks havoc across East Africa with thousands displaced in Burundi

(13 May 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
++CLIENTS NOTE SHOTLIST WAS UPDATED AT 1102GMT++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Gutumba, Burundi - 10 May 2024
1. Various of homes and businesses flooded in Gutumba, residents
2. Various of displaced residents getting ready to be transported in buses to higher ground
3. SOUNDBITE (Kirundi) Ndaba Minani, displaced by floods:
"We thought the state had abandoned us. Thank goodness for that slight improvement, to have a place to rest. I think they were prepared. When you relocate someone, you move them elsewhere."
4. Mid of displaced people
5. SOUNDBITE (Kirundi) Ndaba Minani, displaced by floods
“I think that the state and its partners have prepared this. I have just spent four years as a nomad, I have lost everything, you see that I am also disabled."
6. Various of displaced getting ready and boarding vehicles to move to higher ground
7. Various of police addressing crowd
8. SOUNDBITE (Kirundi) Anicet Nibaruta, Head of National Disaster Prevention:
"The wish of the state is to save you from this water, you know that there have even been people killed by animals, crocodiles and hippopotamuses. We don't want that to happen again. There is work that will continue. We will help the students to continue their studies, especially the test candidates, who will do tests like the others."
9. Various of displaced residents preparing to board buses and driving off to higher ground
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Matyazo, Burundi - 10 May 2024
10. Various of displaced residents arriving at higher ground in Matyazo, getting off buses, gathered
11. Various of temporary shelters being set up
STORYLINE:
Deadly floods are wreaking havoc in many parts of East Africa with Burundi calling for international help to deal with the aftermath of torrential rainfall.
Over the weekend, the country's government began the voluntary relocation of approximately 2000 families displaced by the flooding, moving them to shelters on higher ground.
"We thought the state had abandoned us. Thank goodness for that slight improvement, to have a place to rest," said Ndaba Minani who says he has been displaced by floods for the past four years with a leg injury that has left him disabled.
Displaced families boarded buses provided by the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and moved from the shores of Gutumba in the west of the country near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo to Matyazo, some 30 kilometres (19 miles) from the economic capital, Bujumbura.
The relocation is mired with logistical challenges, including a shortage of materials used for makeshift shelters to house displaced families.
Lake Tanganyika’s rising waters have flooded various parts of the country including Bujumbura, disrupting business there and elsewhere in the country that relies heavily on donor support to run government programs.
The Boulevard du Japon, a major highway in Bujumbura, has been flooded in recent days.
Between September and April 7, some 203,944 people were affected by flooding, with 19,250 homes and 209 classrooms destroyed.
Burundi is one of the world’s poorest countries, with 80% of its 13 million people employed in agriculture, according to the World Bank.
Flooding there has created surreal scenes like game rangers entering the waterlogged Rusizi National Park in a canoe.
Climate experts say flooding in Burundi and elsewhere in the region is part of extreme conditions linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon.
AP video by Francine Sinarinzi
===========================================================
Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives ​​
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...