The deceased include a woman and her baby from Kaniga sector whose house was washed away by landslides and a man from Rushaki sector struck by lightning.

Gicumbi district vice mayor for social affairs, Elisabeth Mujawamariya has confirmed the incident noting that they are currently providing emergent assistance and assessing occasioned losses.

“It is true that yesterday’s rain occasioned disasters and took residents’ lives. We have so far identified three victims from different sectors. The rain has also killed livestock, ravaged crops and houses among others. We are still providing emergency relief as we assess losses,” she said.

Mujawamariya explained that survivors from the family whose house was destroyed by landslide are being attended to as they seek how to provide alternative shelter.

Gicumbi is among districts prone to rain disasters due to the presence of steep hilly topography.

The Government has been scaling up efforts to contain similar disasters through building of terraces and planting anti-erosion trees.