Musanze District authorities have embarked on repairing bridges crossing different rivers and gullies in the district, which are often affected by floods originating from the volcanoes during the rainy season. The region is prone to floods due to its mountainous nature, as heavy downpours in the volcanoes often result in frequent floods that damage infrastructure including roads and bridges, as well as private property. Sometimes, human lives are unfortunately lost too. ALSO READ: Disaster Risk Reduction: 10 Key measures Rwanda has taken Over the past five years, Northern Province has experienced at least 1,500 disaster incidents, mainly floods and landslides, which have resulted in over 200 fatalities and damaged over 5,000 homes, according to figures from the Ministry in charge of Emergency Management. Under the 2024/25 fiscal year, Musanze District has allocated close to Rwf 1 billion to the repair of nine bridges in five sectors, and according to officials, this week, the repair of a gully that connects Musanze Sector to Shingiro Sector was completed. Flooding of gullies “When it rains, parents are always worried. Children cannot go to school. Those who try to cross the gully are at risk,” Agnes Kamikamuntu, a resident of Shingiro Sector, told The New Times. Before its repair, the gully would overflow, usually paralyzing transport between the two sectors, affecting a number of activities including students’ class attendance. “The floods over the gully recently killed one school child,” she added. Clarisse Uwanyirigira, the Vice Mayor in charge of economic development in Musanze District said the repair of the bridge will reduce school dropouts, adding that to curb flooding from the volcanoes, six water ponds have been built over Cyuve, Nyabutoshwa, Muhe and Cyabirego gullies. She added that this year, rainwater harvesting tanks will be distributed in Kinigi and Nyange Sectors which are close to volcano national park. Uwanyirigira also noted that more interventions to curb the frequent floods will be implemented under the support from Volcanoes Community Resilience Project (VRP). ALSO READ: Over 650 households displaced by River Mukungwa floods to be relocated Mukungwa communities to benefit The government is also working on solutions for Mukungwa River which receives water from the volcanoes, and usually causes flooding in Musanze City and Nyabihu districts. Communities affected by flooding along the river may find relief in a $300 million (Rwf382 billion) initiative that is expected to commence implementation soon, according to the Rwanda Water Resources Board. The project aims to deploy various measures to mitigate flooding along the river. As part of the project, there are proposed interventions including the restoration of catchment structures like detention ponds, the expansion of road crossings, fortification of riverbanks, sediment management, large detention dykes, and protection of river buffer zones. ALSO READ: Rwf35bn project to control floods in volcanoes region The goal of the project is to enhance climate resilience, mitigate flood risks, and enhance natural resource management and tourism assets within Rwanda's volcano region. The ongoing project focuses on four districts: Burera, Musanze, Nyabihu, and Rubavu. The Rwanda Water Resources Board has identified a total of 22 gullies across Burera, Musanze, Rubavu, and Nyabihu. However, an expanded program has been devised to encompass Rutsiro, Ngororero, Gakenke, and Muhanga. “More than usual rainfall” is expected in most parts of Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, northern Burundi, northern and central Tanzania, southern and northern Somalia, southern Ethiopia and southeastern South Sudan.
