At least 109 people have been reported killed as flooding and landslides brought on by heavy rain battered western Rwanda, government officials said Wednesday.
It rained Tuesday overnight in several parts of western and northern Rwanda, Marie Solange Kayisire, the minister for emergency management, told reporters.
"At least 109 people have so far been confirmed dead, including 95 in the Western Province and 14 in the Northern Province."
"The heavy overnight rain caused immense suffering," Francois Habitegeko, governor of the Western Province, told Reuters, adding that the hardest-hit districts were Ngororero, Rubavu, Nyabihu, Rutsiro, and Karongi.
"We have lost many lives and families. Around 55 people have died, not to mention the wounded and those trapped under their houses. We are trying to rescue as many people as possible."
The state-run Rwanda Broadcasting Agency posted a video clip on Twitter showing muddy water flowing fast along an inundated road and destroyed houses.
Habitegeko said the rain started at around 6 p.m. (4 p.m. GMT) Tuesday and the River Sebeya had burst its banks.
"The soil was already soaked from the previous days of rain, which caused landslides that closed roads," he said.
The Rwanda Meteorology Agency had said that the East African nation was expected to receive above-average rainfall in May.
