Burundi is struggling to provide relief to hundreds of thousands and protect infrastructure as floods cause devastation.
Thousands of people in Burundi have been displaced by floods caused by the overflowing of Lake Tanganyika, the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume. The capital Bujumbura, which sits on the northeastern edge of the lake, has been badly affected along with other coastal towns and cities. Hundreds of buildings including hospitals and schools have been abandoned, roads and bridges have been destroyed, and residents have to use boats to move around.
On 16 April, the Burundian government and UN issued a joint statement appealing for financial aid. It reported that over 200,000 people in Burundi had been affected by torrential rains and that nearly 100,00 people had been displaced in the past 6-7 months. It added that relentless rainfall has destroyed 40,000 hectares of crops and that 306,000 people in the poorest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita, according to the World Bank, need humanitarian assistance.
One of the worst affected areas in Burundi is Gatumba, located at mouth of Rusizi River at the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika. This especially vulnerable town has been under threat for five years, when water levels in the lake rose significantly, but the situation worsened due to unusually high levels of rainfall in recent months. Thousands of people have fled their homes. Those who remain live precariously.
"Some people sleep outside on trees or in the floods," says Mathieu Miburo, a father of six from Gatumba, whose house was badly damaged. "Our crops were also destroyed...The water levels are still rising."
Experts that study Lake Tanganyika say it reached a record height of 777.2m on 23 April 2024. This broke its previous record from May 1964, when the lake experienced a once-in-a-century flood.
According to Bernard Sindayihebura, a professor at the University of Burundi and an expert in environmental land-use planning, the recent flooding is due to numerous factors including recent weather patterns in the wider East African region. "The heavy rainfall associated with the El Niño phenomenon is causing severe flooding, with rivers overflowing," he says. El Niños occur every few years, though climate change has made them more extreme and frequent.
Albert Mbonerane, an environmental activist and former Minister of the Environment speaking to Burundi Eco newspaper, emphasised the additional role played by soil degradation, which can be caused by agricultural activities and deforestation. This contributes to erosion and can result in sediment and waste being carried into the lake and raising the water level over time. "Lake Tanganyika has at least 100 tributaries," he says, each of which can carry matter into the lake. He adds that the Lukuga River, the only outlet for Lake Tanganyika, is partially blocked.
In response to flood threats, the Burundian government has raised the harbour protection wall, which was almost submerged, to protect the port of Bujumbura. It has also launched a construction project to shield the Avenue du Lac in the capital from potential destruction.
Sindayihebura says the government needs to scale up these urgent measures, beginning by identifying other key infrastructure that may be vulnerable. He recommends immediate action to protect Bujumbura airport. "The longer climate action policy is delayed, the greater the cost of inaction," he cautions.
Going forwards, Jean Marie Sabushimike, a geographer and disaster management expert, has also called on the government to better enforce the 2012 Water Code, which prohibits construction within 150m of Lake Tanganyika. "We have damaged the buffer zone, a natural ecosystem that used to regulate flooding," he wrote in his column for Iwacu. "Our actions have resulted in adverse consequences."
In the shorter-term, as hundreds of thousands continue to suffer from rain and floods, activists and experts are urging the government and international partners to provide relief to the those in need, especially with heavy rainfall expected to continue into May.
On 24 April, Burundi's Prime Minister Gervais Ndirakobuca said that over 2,000 households affected by the flooding in Gatumba would be relocated to a safer place. "The government is currently searching for suitable state-owned land on which the residents can be settled," he said.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
Sindayihebura suggests more can be done and that the government should identify those most affected by the disaster. "There are victims who have lost everything and need emergency aid," he says. He calls on the government to convene a regional meeting with other countries that share a coast with Lake Tanganyika to come up with joint solutions.
As one of the poorest countries in the world, Burundi is struggling to meet the costs of the climate crisis. Tharcisse Ndayizeye, an environmental activist, says this is where the principles of climate justice and common but differentiated responsibilities, enshrined in the 2015 Paris Agreement, need to be applied. Burundi is one of the lowest emitters of carbon in the world yet is facing some of the worst consequences of climate change.
"Those who contribute to the increase in greenhouse gases through their industries must accept responsibility and provide the necessary support to adapt to the challenging circumstances we currently face," he says.
Lorraine Josiane Manishatse is a Burundian journalist and researcher in Gender Studies.
