KIGALI, March 6 (Xinhua) -- At least 53 people were killed and 84 others injured in different parts of Rwanda due to disasters triggered by heavy rains since January this year, Ministry of Emergency Management said on Friday.
The ministry said in its disaster update that 858 houses, 196 hectares of crops, 23 roads, 17 bridges and eight churches, among others, were destroyed.
The update cited lightning, floods and rainstorms as the major causes of deaths.
An outlook from the Rwanda Meteorology Agency shows that heavy rains would continue until May in some parts of the country while in northern and western districts it will go on until June.
According to ministry figures, more than 100 people were killed last year in disasters such as landslides and floods, while more than 230 were injured.
Nearly 5,000 houses were damaged and more than 9,000 hectares of plantations were destroyed in the same period last year.
