In northern Rwanda, landslides and mudslides are recurring due to heavy rainfall and particularly fragile terrain.
The districts of Nyabihu and Nyundo are among the most exposed areas, where homes, schools and agricultural land suffer recurring damage.
In March 2026, the village of Vunga was struck by a mudslide following the overflowing of the Kazirankara River. A primary school was partially buried, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of students and covering classrooms and kitchens with a thick layer of mud.
On the ground, residents describe a situation that worsens year after year. Displaced with her four children after the storms, Marie-Claire is still waiting for the housing assistance promised by the authorities. She pleads for structural measures:
"This land was once fertile and precious, but little by little, we have begun to suffer disasters," she laments, calling in particular for the construction of dikes to contain the floods.
In rural areas, the economic consequences are just as severe. In Kavoma, Amnesia Twizerimana describes agriculture as having become virtually impossible. After a major landslide in 2022 that displaced approximately 160,000 m³ of earth over three kilometers in less than two minutes, harvests remain unpredictable and incomes nonexistent.
"We cultivate without being able to harvest. We live in precarious conditions, without enough to eat or earning money," she summarizes.
The authorities acknowledge the scale of the multiple risks to which the country is exposed. Christine Hitamana Niyotwambaza highlights the combination of natural threats affecting hilly areas: landslides, floods, lightning, but also seismic activity linked to the proximity of the region's active volcanoes.
In response to this situation, relocation programs have been initiated and new housing is under construction. However, on the ground, communities continue to experience recurring disruptions, caught between geological vulnerability and the intensification of extreme weather events.
