In December 2023, at least 300 people died in Burundi in various disasters caused by torrential rain. Since then, the rains have continued to batter the country, forcing thousands of people to move. The heavy rainfall, which scientists attribute to the El Niño climate phenomenon, has caused the waters of Lake Tanganyika to rise.
Africa’s second-largest lake rose to 777.04 metres on 12 April 2024, just 36 centimetres below the record level reached during the floods of 1964, according to Protection Civile, Burundi’s national disaster management body.
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“The resulting rains and flooding of Lake Tanganyika caused considerable damage in several regions. Roads, schools and health centres have been destroyed or irreparably damaged, which is very worrying”, says Valentin Lubunga Kibukila, National Director of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), one of the many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) providing support to climate refugees in Burundi.
According to the organisation, more than 200,000 people were affected by floods, landslides, violent winds and hailstorms between the end of 2023 and April 2024. The number of internally displaced people rose by 25% to 96,000. In the affected areas, “hygiene has deteriorated considerably, leaving people in extremely precarious sanitary conditions. This raises serious concerns about the potential outbreak of water-borne diseases and the likely increase in the number of cases of malaria”, says Delphine Büttner, Programme Manager at the Stamm Burundi Foundation.
Jean Marie Takouleu