Regional authorities said massive flooding incidents killed a minimum of 176 people in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Reuters reported Friday.
Théo Ngwabidje Kasi, governor of the South Kivu province, said people remain missing despite the high death toll, according to Reuters.
Two villages in the province, Bushushu and Nyamukubi, were severely affected by the floods, which came as rivers overflowed after a spell of heavy rains, the outlet reported.
Residents of Nyamukubi estimated the village lost upwards of 75% of all residential homes. Educational and health facilities were also destroyed, according to the Associated Press (AP).
“Whole houses were carried away,” said government official Thomas Bakenge, who described the impact of the floods as “enormous, beyond words,” the AP reported.
#UPDATE More than 100 people have died after heavy rains and flooding in eastern DR Congo’s South Kivu province, officials said Friday, days after torrential downpours killed dozens in neighbouring Rwanda https://t.co/JVQMbGOtv9 pic.twitter.com/tXwMSQ6bfL
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 5, 2023
“My team and I have not slept,” local doctor Robert Masamba told Reuters before saying his facility “received 56 patients, 80% of which have fractures.” (RELATED: Biden Admin Blocks Major Mining Project Days After Signing Deal With Child Labor Hotbeds For Rare Metals)
Aid workers from the Red Cross helped gather the bodies at one facility where a Reuters reporter managed to count 72 corpses alone, the outlet reported.
South Kivu, a region bordering the neighboring country of Rwanda, is no stranger to heavy flooding. Rwanda itself saw flooding kill 130 and destroy thousands of homes earlier in the week, according to Reuters.
The province lies close to North Kivu province, which faced mass evacuations in February as refugees fled an advance by the M23 rebel group.