On December 4, 2019, only less than two months after the October celebration of the International Day for Disaster Reduction (IDDR), heavy rains precipitated the deadly series of landslides that followed later that night into the next day, affecting over 500 people in Nyempundu, Gikomero and Rukombe of the northwestern provinces of Cibitoke, bordering Rwanda, and Bubanza as well as the northeastern province of Cankuzo.