2023 Africa floods

Frequent heavy rains causing damage and casualties between March and May are common in East Africa – in May 2020 around 80 people were killed by floods in Rwanda.

Between January and April 2023, the Ministry of Emergency Management reported that weather-related disasters caused 60 fatalities, destroyed over 1,205 homes and damaged 5,000 acres of land across Rwanda.

[3] Uganda had also experienced heavy rain since March, which had caused landslides that destroyed homes and displaced hundreds of people.

[5] Floods formed by various causes killed 1,216 people in Malawi, 552 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 198 in Mozambique, 186 in Kenya, 160 in Somalia, 135 in Rwanda, 95 in Tanzania, 40 in Madagascar, 29 in Ethiopia, 18 in Uganda, 15 in South Africa and another in Cameroon.

[10] At least 440 people were killed and over 2,500 others were left missing by floods in the villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo on 5 May.

[11][12][13] In response to the flooding, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Felix Tshisekedi announced a national day of mourning for 8 May.

[14][15] Southeastern parts of the country were affected by flooding on 28 December, killing 60 people, leaving 16 others missing, destroying over 100 houses and damaging 1,400 others, mostly in the Bukavu area.

[17] A NADMO report shows that 35,857 people in the Volta Region were affected by floods after the Akosombo Dam released excess water on October 14, 2023.

[26][27] In March, the long-lived Cyclone Freddy hit Malawi, causing flooding which killed 1,216 people, including 537 missing and presumed dead,[28] injured 1,724 others[29] and affected over 500,000 residents in the country.

According to François Habitegeko, the governor of Rwanda's western province, people were crushed by the collapse of several houses, and landslides made the main roads in the area impassable, along with flooded fields.

[40] In Somalia, hundreds of homes were damaged and there were 20 deaths (including a mother and her two children),[41] two injuries and 8,000 people were affected due to floods in Bardhere District on March 24.

[5] Marie-Solange Kayisire, the minister in charge of the emergency department, called on local residents to increase patrols and law enforcement.