BUJUMBURA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Five children died when their house collapsed in a landslide on Thursday night in Burundi's Cibitoke province, authorities said Friday.
There was heavy rain when the landslide hit the house, located at the foot of a mountain, Mabayi District Administrator Pascal Basarurwuzuye told Xinhua by phone.
According to him, nine people, including two parents and seven children, were sleeping in the house around midnight when the mountain landslide happened.
Basarurwuzuye indicated that the five children who died were sleeping in a room close to the mountain.
Also on Thursday night, 269 houses were destroyed following heavy rains mixed with a violent wind that hit neighborhoods in the north of the Burundian capital Bujumbura.
Jeanne Nakiteretse, head of Carama zone, said 53 houses were completely damaged while 91 others are in dangers of collapse in various neighborhoods at Carama.
The two local administration authorities told Xinhua that other infrastructures like schools were also damaged.
Both authorities indicated that "thousands of people have become homeless" and therefore need urgent assistance.
Traffic was also disrupted in the north of Bujumbura as a result of rains that flooded most of roads and avenues.
