Landslides displace 48 families in Ruhango

AT LEAST 40 families in Gasare cell, Kinazi sector in Ruhango district, have been left homeless after their village was washed away by landslides which hit the area last weekend, an assessment by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs indicates.The landslides displaced the entire hill stretching 1.5km, Frederic Ntawukuriryayo, the public relations and communications officer at the Ministry of Disaster Management, said.In total, 48 houses and four shops were destroyed, while 12 hectares of rice and other crops were washed away, he said, adding that no life was lost in the disaster.Ntawukuriryayo said the ministry has started extending support to the affected families.“We are giving them non-food items, including sauce pans, jerrycans, bed covers and kitchen sets, as the district tries to find where to relocate them,” he said.Meanwhile, heavy rain in the Nyabarongo hydro-electric power catchment area triggered unprecedented floods at the site. However, Gopi Krishna, the regional project manager, said the power project withstood the floods.“The engineers and staff of the project took prompt and effective measures during floods to avoid any damage,” Krishna said.The construction of the power plant, which started in 2009, is expected to be completed by April 2014.

National

Landslides displace 48 families in Ruhango