BUKAVU: The death toll from landslides and floods triggered by heavy rain in the Democratic Republic of Congo has climbed to about 400, authorities said on Sunday.
Thomas Bakenga, administrator of Kalehe territory, said that as many as 394 bodies have been recovered from the affected areas. Heavy rain in the Kalehe area of South Kivu province on Thursday caused an overflow in rivers, causing landslides that engulfed the Bushushu and Nyamukubi villages in the region.
Officials Say Death Toll Rises to 400
“We now have over 390 dead bodies recovered,” the officials told AFP on Sunday. He said that 142 bodies were recovered at Bushushu, 132 at Nyamukubi, and over 120 had been found floating on river Kivu near Idjwi, an island in the middle of the volcanic lake.
“Since Thursday, we have been finding dead bodies every minute and we are burying them,” he added.
The local government has also sent a boat filled with flour, beans, and other food, and medicine, he added. Many villages were submerged, many homes washed away, and fields devastated when rivers in the province burst their banks because of heavy rains.
The government announced that a day of national mourning would be observed on Monday, with flags lowered at half-mast “in memory of the lost people”,.
Earlier, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also offered his condolences to the victims of the recent floods in DR Congo. Experts said that extreme weather events were happening with increased frequency and intensity because of climate change in the region.
