Media Home
UN Web TV
UN Audiovisual Library
UN PhotoUNHCR / EAST AFRICA FLOODS REFUGEES
STORY: UNHCR / EAST AFRICA FLOODS REFUGEES
TRT: 08:11
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNHCR ON SCREEN
LANGAUGE: ENGLISH / SWAHILI / KIRUNDI / NATS
DATELINE: 28 APRIL 2024, BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI/ DADAAB, KENYA
28, APRIL 2024, BUJUMBURA, BURUNDI
1. Various shots, displaced residents on canoe, flood waters in streets, flooded neighborhood
2. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Nyembo, Congolese refugee:
“When I moved here in 2020 there was no water, vehicles could drive up to my house. But when the
water started rising it filled the houses, we first left, then we came back. When we returned the water
had receded but it started rising again.
3. Wide shot, displaced residents on canoe
4. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Nyembo, Congolese refugee:
“As the years went by the water levels kept increasing every season. This year the water levels are very high, they are catastrophic. I don’t know what to do, I don't have the means to rent another house to stay in.”
5. Various shots, flooded neighborhood
6. SOUNDBITE (Kirundi) Neziya Nsananikiye, displaced Burundian:
“I have never seen flooding like this, the water has never been this high. We were growing rice over
there. This has been a bad year.”
7. Various shots, man moving canoe, offloading belongings from canoe, household items
8. SOUNDBITE (Swahili) Kjaga Justin Ngoma, displaced Burundian:
“The flooding forced me to move out. The water has been rising here. We are a family of ten, and there are children as well who are in school. I am also a student. We often get late for class. When we moved here, we never imagined the waters could ever reach this level. But it kept rising, so we decided to move out.”
9. Various shots, canoe sailing through flooded neighbourhood
28 APRIL 2024, DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP, KENYA
10. Various shots, flooded camp, Somali refugee showing where floodwaters level reached
11. UPSOUND (Somali) Korad Abdiwanhab, Somali refugee:
“Water came into the house from both sides. The first wave was up to this level.”
12. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Korad Abdiwanhab, Somali refugee:
“When the flood water came into the house, I woke up my disabled daughter and the other children. I
tried to rescue the children before the house collapsed. After the house collapsed, we ran towards the school. We went inside the school where we stayed for several nights. The water has receded but, we have nowhere to return to. No shelter. No latrines. No home.”
13. Various shots, people walking near paddles of water
14. Various shots, people waiting for assistance, children, humanitarian workers loading aid kits on vehicle, truck driving through camp
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Mohamed Aden Maalim, UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR):
“We have received heavy rains which have caused serious floods around the camps. Over 20,000 refugees have been displaced. Many of who are currently seeking shelter inside the schools. UNHCR and partners, including the county government, are coordinating the distribution of critical core relief items such as sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets, soap, and water purifiers to those most in need.”
16. Various shots, cars driving along muddy road, ariel views of flooded camp
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), heavy rains and flash floods continue to hit parts of East Africa, impacting thousands of people, including refugees in the region.
In Burundi, around 32,000 refugees are living in areas hit by floods, 500 of whom require urgent assistance.
UNHCR met with some of the refugees in the capital Bujumbura to assess the situation.
Some families, including elderly people, have had to relocate multiple times.
Access to food and other necessities is becoming increasingly difficult as people have to pay high transport fees to use canoes to reach markets and other amenities.
UNHCR is particularly concerned about people who had already been forced to flee, losing their homes again, showing how forcibly displaced people continue to be on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
In Kenya, nearly 20,000 people at the Dadaab refugee camps have been displaced.
Many of them arrived in recent years, after fleeing severe drought in neighboring Somalia.
Nearly 2,600 people are sheltering in seven schools that have been extensively damaged.
Several latrines have also collapsed, putting refugees at risk of deadly water-borne diseases.
Other countries where displaced people are among the hardest hit include Somalia with over 46,000 internally displaced people in five locations south of the country forced to relocate due to flash floods.
In Tanzania, the Nyarugusu and Nduta camps have been impacted.
Roads within the two camps have also been damaged, disrupting assistance and service.
UNHCR is working to deliver crucial aid and protection services to the affected.
In Kenya, refugees are receiving core relief items including tarpaulins, mosquito nets, dignity kits, soap, and jerricans.
In Burundi UNHCR, together with the Government, will provide shelter kits and cash assistance to help refugees.
Thousands of former Burundian refugees who have returned to home are among those prioritized for support.
In Tanzania, UNHCR is working with local partners to rehabilitate refugee shelters.
More donor resources will be critical to provide people with immediate lifesaving assistance as well as support to cope with and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
In April 2024, UNHCR launched its first-ever Climate Resilience Fund, which seeks to raise US$100 million to support refugees, host communities and countries of origin hardest hit by the climate emergency, and to promote refugees’ inclusion in national and local climate action.
