Kigali, Rwanda — The Rwandan agency in charge of water resources has warned that heavy rains pounding the country are likely to cause some rivers to burst their banks and flood surrounding communities.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Rwanda Water Resources Board advised people living near flood-prone areas to evacuate. The warning came after the Rwanda Meteorology Agency warned that several parts of Rwanda would experience heavy rains in the first 10 days of May.

"Residents living around these rivers should evacuate the risk zones and avoid the river banks during heavy rains," the statement said.

A total of 10 people were killed due to disasters triggered by heavy rains in various parts of Rwanda in the last 10 days of April, the Ministry in charge of Emergency Management announced on Tuesday.

In May last year, floods and landslides that struck western and northern Rwanda killed 135 people and displaced thousands.