3 killed as heavy rains pound Kigali

Three people were killed and scores of houses razed Saturday as heavy rains pounded different parts of Rwanda, officials said on Monday.

"On the night of January 21, heavy rains tragically claimed the lives of three residents in Kigali and led to destruction of homes and public infrastructure including roads," Rwanda's Ministry of Disasters and Refugee Affairs said in a statement.

Preliminary assessment indicated that more than 800 houses and four classrooms were destroyed in different parts of Kigali alone while about 30 houses were ruined in the southern district of Kamonyi.

The statement said the assessment was ongoing with figures expected to change.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, disaster damages are double traditional estimates, averaging 14 billion U.S. dollars per year, according to a latest report from the World Bank and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery released in November 2016. Endit