Rwanda evacuates 6,000 people from high risk zones

ANKARA

Rwandan authorities have evacuated nearly 6,000 people living in high-risk zones, local media reported on Thursday.

The relocation was a matter of urgency due to heavy rains that have battered the country in recent weeks, according to The New Times.

It added that some evacuees were temporarily lodged in public facilities like schools, others were given allowances equivalent to a month's rent and some opted to seek shelter with friends and families.

''From September to December 8th 2019, 2,803 houses destroyed by rain-related disasters. Of these, 512 were in high-risk zones. From January to December 2019, disasters killed 110 people; 232 were injured; 4,891 damaged houses; 9843.5 ha of crops damaged and 109 cows lost,'' the Rwanda Red Cross said in a tweet.

''Over 2.8 million people have now been affected, and more than 280 have reportedly died, due to unusually heavy rainfall and flooding in Eastern Africa.

''Across the region, homes, infrastructure and livelihoods have been destroyed and damaged in the hardest-hit areas, and the risk of communicable diseases—including cholera—is rising,'' according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

ANKARA

Rwandan authorities have evacuated nearly 6,000 people living in high-risk zones, local media reported on Thursday.

The relocation was a matter of urgency due to heavy rains that have battered the country in recent weeks, according to The New Times.

''Over 2.8 million people have now been affected, and more than 280 have reportedly died, due to unusually heavy rainfall and flooding in Eastern Africa.