More than 100 dead after flooding in eastern DR Congo, officials say

The victims were mostly children and aged people, with an further 28 injured.

Heavy overnight floods person washed distant respective villages successful the Democratic Republic of the Congo, sidesplitting much than 100 people, according to section officials, successful a federation suffering warfare and wide displacement.

The floods were triggered by torrential rains and surged done the Kasaba village, successful South Kivu province, during the nighttime of Thursday into Friday, determination authoritative Bernard Akili told quality bureau AFP connected Saturday.

Torrential rains caused the Kasaba River to burst its banks overnight, with the rushing waters “carrying everything successful their path, ample stones, ample trees and mud, earlier razing the houses connected the borderline of the lake”, helium said.

“The victims who died are chiefly children and elderly,” helium said, adding that 28 radical were injured and immoderate 150 homes were destroyed.

Sammy Kalonji, the determination administrator, said the torrent killed astatine slightest 104 radical and caused “enormous worldly damage.”

South Kivu’s provincial wellness minister, Theophile Walulika Muzaliwa, told the Associated Press quality bureau that rescue operations were hampered by a deficiency of services and a shutdown of telephone lines owed to the flooding.

“Sector chiefs, colony chiefs and locality chiefs, who are besides members of the section government, are connected site. The lone humanitarian organisation presently contiguous is the Red Cross,” helium said.

A section nonmigratory told AFP that immoderate 119 bodies had been recovered by Saturday.

Such earthy disasters are predominant successful DR Congo, peculiarly connected the shores of the Great Lakes successful the eastbound of the country, arsenic the surrounding hills are weakened by deforestation. In 2023, floods killed 400 radical successful respective communities located connected the shores of Lake Kivu, successful South Kivu province, portion past month, 33 radical were killed successful flooding successful the capital, Kinshasa.

DR Congo has besides been taxable to decades of warring betwixt authorities troops and rebels successful the eastbound portion of the country, which escalated successful precocious January erstwhile the Rwandan-backed M23 rebel radical captured Goma, the superior of North Kivu state, successful a accelerated and astonishment offensive.

Nearly 3,000 radical were killed and 2,880 injured successful the Goma offensive, worsening what is already considered 1 of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with much than 7 cardinal radical remaining displaced.