Burundi
1.1 Burundi Humanitarian Background


Disasters, Conflicts and Migration

Natural Hazards

Yes / No

Comments / Details

Drought

Yes

Beginning 2019, a drought occurred in the northern province of Kirundo, causing the departure of hundreds of people to Rwanda. According to Ministry of Social Affairs, there should be about 60,000 people affected by climate change. For more information regarding drought in Burundi, please visit the following link.

Earthquakes

Yes

Rare

Epidemics

Yes

Cholera in the provinces along Lake Tanganyika, Cibitoke, Bujumbura, Bururi, Makamba (Nyanza-Lac).

For more information see link: EMDAT Burundi Country Profile

Extreme Temperatures

No

 n/a

Flooding

Yes

Rain is irregular, falling most heavily in the northwest. Rainfall has a critical influence on most of the socio-economic activities in Burundi.
link

Insect Infestation

Yes

Pest/infestation

Mudslides

Yes

Over 2,100 victims of severe flooding and mudslides in Burundi are receiving help from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

In mid-April, weeks of torrential rains hit Burundi, causing the banks of the Rusizi river to overflow and flood Gatumba district (Bujumbura Rural province) roughly 12km outside Bujumbura city. Thousands of homes, businesses, and crops were swept away, and over 45,000 people were affected, of whom up to 18,000 were displaced.

Volcanic Eruptions

No

n/a

High Waves / Surges

No

n/a

Wildfires

Yes

forest or bush fire

High Winds

No

n/a

Man-Made Issues

Civil Strife

Yes

Current political situation, for more information see link: IRIN Website 

International Conflict

n/a

n/a  

Internally Displaced Persons

Yes

135,058 (some ethnic Tutsis remain displaced from intercommunal violence that broke out after the 1,993 coup and fighting between government forces and rebel groups since April 2015) (2020) For more information see the following: link

Refugees Present

 Yes

77,757 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (refugees and asylum seekers) (2020) link

 

Yes

300,000 Burundian refugees are still in camps located in Rwanda and Tanzania

Landmines / UXO Present

 n/a

 n/a


*For more detailed database on disasters by country, please see the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters: EMDAT Information on Burundi

Calamities and Seasonal Effects

Burundi, like many parts of Africa, experiences extreme climate events such as floods and recurrent drought. In the long term, crop failure, chronic food shortages and droughts do occur in the country.  Flood disasters can occur during rainy seasons and causing landslides, while drought can affect populations when dry seasons are longer than usual. Over 80% of the population lives in rural areas and are engaged in various agricultural activities including subsistence farming and livestock keeping.

According to WFP, food security for most Burundians has not improved in recent years, despite the resumption of relative peace in the country. Even during harvest season, households spend up to 60 percent of their income on food. During these difficult times, many households employ a wide variety of coping strategies such as off-farm employment, temporary migration, petty trade, transport and trading in food commodities across food economy zones and participation in food-for-work projects. Some households also reduce the number of daily meals and/or the quantity eaten per meal.

Burundi Relief and Flood Risk Map

Burundi in general has a tropical highland climate, with a considerable daily temperature range in many areas. Temperature also varies considerably from one region to another, chiefly as a result of differences in altitude. The central plateau enjoys pleasantly cool weather, with an average temperature of 20 °C (68 °F). The area around Lake Tanganyika is warmer, averaging 23 °C (73.4 °F); the highest mountain areas are cooler, averaging 16 °C (60.8 °F). 

Bujumbura’s average annual temperature is 23 °C (73.4 °F). Rain is irregular, falling most heavily in the northwest. Dry seasons vary in length, and there are sometimes long periods of drought.

However, four seasons can be distinguished: the long dry season (June–August), the short-wet season (September–November), the short dry season (December–January), and the long-wet season (February–May). Most of Burundi receives between 1,300 and 1,600 mm (51.2 and 63.0 in) of rainfall a year.

Seasonal Affects on Transport

Due to a poor drainage system, there is serious flooding of the roads in urban areas during the rainy season. During the rains, some roads become difficult to navigate, especially in the rural areas where the roads are full of mud and potholes. However, light vehicles equipped with 4WD, can cope with this road condition.
Heavy vehicles might not be able to operate in these conditions. Potential seasonal effects on miscellaneous handling and storage activities include the stoppage of handling operations at the port for perishable goods when it rains. The equipment operators and laborers will stop work and will only resume after the rain has ceased. This break in operations can last for up four hours in a day. As it is common in many parts of Africa, rains will most of the time disrupt operations of any kind till it ceases.

Other ways of transport (air, lake) are not really affected by seasonal effects, as most of the transport in Burundi is by road.

Capacity and Contacts for In-Country Emergency Response

Government

There is the National Security Council (Le Conseil National de la Sécurité; CNS) headed by the President, who is the head of state of the Republic of Burundi. The Council is responsible for providing disaster relief in the form of food, medicine and assistance with temporary shelter and reconstruction. Other members of this council are the Minister of Defense, the Minister of the Interior etc. In the case of an emergency, this council names an ad hoc commission in charge of overseeing the disaster relief.

4.1 Burundi Government Contact List

Humanitarian Community

Several UN Agencies (WFP, FAO, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNFPA, WHO, UNDP, UNOPS, UNWOMEN, IOM, OSESG) are operating in Burundi

The INGOs intervene in different field, such as Medical, Food Security, IDP’s and Refugee. 

A key part of the work is to investigate the capacity of all the humanitarian actors in the country as well as identify gaps and the way forward to address them. 

UN agencies and INGOs have trucking capacity that can be used for humanitarian response.

For information on Burundi humanitarian background additional details, please see the following document: 4.2 Burundi Humanitarian key figures

4.2 Burundi Humanitarian Agency Contact List


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