At least 109 people have died in floods and landslides triggered by heavy rains in the west and north of Rwanda, the African country’s state-run news network reported today as authorities search for trapped people.

At the same time, six people were killed in floods in neighboring Uganda.

“Our top priority now is to get to every damaged home to make sure we can rescue anyone who could be trapped,” Rwandan Western Province Governor Francois Habiteggeko told Reuters.

He added that the province’s death toll is still at 95. The latest count, published by Rwanda’s broadcasting agency network, also includes those killed in the floods in the country’s Northern Province.

The worst affected areas in the Western Province are Ruchiro, where 26 people died, Nyabihu, where 19 people died, and Rumbavu and Ngororero, where 18 people died each.

Habitegeko added that it began to rain around 18:00 local time (19:00 Greek time) yesterday and that the Sebeya River overflowed its banks.

“The ground is already soaked from the rains of the previous days, which caused landslides,” he continued.

The Rwanda Meteorological Service predicts above-average rainfall for the country in May.

In neighboring Uganda, six people died overnight after torrential rains hit the mountainous Kisoro region, which is located in the southwest of the country near the border with Rwanda, according to the Ugandan Red Cross.

The Uganda Red Cross Authority said in a statement that five of the dead were members of the same family.

Rwanda has also been facing heavy and continuous rain since the end of March, and landslides have been reported in other areas in recent days, including in Kasese near the Rubensori Mountains, where floods have destroyed homes and forced hundreds of people to flee their homes.

Source: APE-MPE, Reuters, AFP.