Rumonge | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 3°58′S 29°26′E / 3.967°S 29.433°E | |
Country | Burundi |
Province | Rumonge Province |
Population (2008.[1]) | |
• Total | 35,931 |
Rumonge is the capital of Rumonge Province, Burundi, and is located on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The 2008 census recorded a population of 35,931 in Rumonge, making it Burundi's fourth largest city.[1] It had a big Arab (Sharji/Azri) presence before Burundi's independence in 1962.
The Rumonge Hospital is a public regional hospital.[2] It serves the Rumonge Health District.[3] The present hospital has its origins as a dispensary created in 1922 during the Belgian colonial period. Over the years it steadily expanded, until today it can accommodate a large number of patients.[4]
In May 2024 hundreds of families in Rumonge, particularly the Kanyenkoko district, had to leave their homes due to flooding caused by water from the Murembwe River meeting rising water levels in Lake Tanganyika. Some families were housed in Rumonge Hospital, others had been placed in Mutambara and hundreds of others had rented houses. Fields of rice, cassava, banana and sweet potato along the river had also been flooded, and the palm groves had been damaged.[5]