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Bukavu: More than 170 people died after heavy rains and floods in the east of the country Democratic Republic of the CongoSouth Kivu province officials said on Friday, after heavy rains killed dozens in neighboring Rwanda.
South Kivu’s governor, Theo Ngoabiji, said dozens of people were still missing in the area passage West of Lake Kivu and near the Rwandan border, hundreds of homes were washed away by floods.
“We killed about 176 people,” he said during his visit to the affected area.
“This number is temporary,” he said. There are also about 100 people missing.”
Archimedes KarhebwaAn assistant director of Kalehi told AFP earlier that around 100 people had died, according to a provisional toll.
The government announced on Friday evening that a national day of mourning would be observed on Monday with flags lowered to half mast “in memory of the missing compatriots”.
He said several villages in Calais were flooded when rivers burst their banks after heavy rains.
Karboh said that the floods swept away hundreds of homes and “surprised the sellers and their customers in the markets.”
It started to rain on Thursday afternoon, said Innocent Mubinda, a civil society figure in the area, before “the river brought the villagers away”.
Mubinda said his mother and 11 children died in the floods.
Vital MohiniAn elected official from Calais told a local radio station that the floods were “devastating human and material damage”. The number of deaths was estimated at about 150.
Agence France-Presse was unable to independently confirm the death toll, with figures varying.
“The search continues under the rubble,” said a member of the rescue team deployed Friday afternoon, who asked not to be named.
The deadly floods in eastern Congo come after at least 127 people died this week after torrential rains hit neighboring Rwanda, which lies across from Lake Kivu.
“send a distress”
Kalehe assistant director Karhipwa said rivers had burst their banks and caused catastrophic floods on four previous occasions.
He explained that the area had been studied and people living on the banks of the river had asked to leave.
Karhipwa pointed out that deforestation in the area and climate change have contributed to the flooding problem.
“We are sending distress to people of goodwill and urgent humanitarian aid,” he said.
Heavy rains during the rainy seasons in Central Africa regularly lead to floods and landslides.
But experts say extreme weather events in Africa are occurring with increasing frequency and intensity due to climate change.
And last month, a landslide triggered by heavy rains killed about 20 people in North Kivu, a neighboring province of South Kivu.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a vast country the size of continental western Europe, is one of the poorest countries in the world, and is riven by corruption and conflict in its east.
South Kivu’s governor, Theo Ngoabiji, said dozens of people were still missing in the area passage West of Lake Kivu and near the Rwandan border, hundreds of homes were washed away by floods.
“We killed about 176 people,” he said during his visit to the affected area.
“This number is temporary,” he said. There are also about 100 people missing.”
Archimedes KarhebwaAn assistant director of Kalehi told AFP earlier that around 100 people had died, according to a provisional toll.
The government announced on Friday evening that a national day of mourning would be observed on Monday with flags lowered to half mast “in memory of the missing compatriots”.
He said several villages in Calais were flooded when rivers burst their banks after heavy rains.
Karboh said that the floods swept away hundreds of homes and “surprised the sellers and their customers in the markets.”
It started to rain on Thursday afternoon, said Innocent Mubinda, a civil society figure in the area, before “the river brought the villagers away”.
Mubinda said his mother and 11 children died in the floods.
Vital MohiniAn elected official from Calais told a local radio station that the floods were “devastating human and material damage”. The number of deaths was estimated at about 150.
Agence France-Presse was unable to independently confirm the death toll, with figures varying.
“The search continues under the rubble,” said a member of the rescue team deployed Friday afternoon, who asked not to be named.
The deadly floods in eastern Congo come after at least 127 people died this week after torrential rains hit neighboring Rwanda, which lies across from Lake Kivu.
“send a distress”
Kalehe assistant director Karhipwa said rivers had burst their banks and caused catastrophic floods on four previous occasions.
He explained that the area had been studied and people living on the banks of the river had asked to leave.
Karhipwa pointed out that deforestation in the area and climate change have contributed to the flooding problem.
“We are sending distress to people of goodwill and urgent humanitarian aid,” he said.
Heavy rains during the rainy seasons in Central Africa regularly lead to floods and landslides.
But experts say extreme weather events in Africa are occurring with increasing frequency and intensity due to climate change.
And last month, a landslide triggered by heavy rains killed about 20 people in North Kivu, a neighboring province of South Kivu.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a vast country the size of continental western Europe, is one of the poorest countries in the world, and is riven by corruption and conflict in its east.
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