As more bodies are found, the death toll from floods and landslides in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has increased to 203, a government official announced on Saturday.
At least 176 people were confirmed killed as of late on Friday (May 5), according to the provincial governor.
Thomas Bakenga, the administrator of Kalehe territory, where the affected villages are located, said: “Here in Bushushu, 203 bodies have already been removed from the rubble”.
He told the local media that it was impossible to determine the entire scope of the material losses and human losses.
Thursday’s heavy rains in the South Kivu province’s Kalehe district led to rivers overflowing and landslides that swallowed the communities of Bushushu and Nyamukubi.
“In Nyamukubi, where the weekly market was conducted on Thursday, the hillside also collapsed”, Bakenga added.
In all, when rivers in the area burst their banks due to the heavy rains, numerous villages were drowned, many houses were washed away, and farms were damaged.
Denis Mukwege, a Congolese doctor and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, announced on Saturday that he had dispatched a team of surgeons, anaesthetists, and technicians to the region in order to “provide the population with emergency medical aid.” Bukavu is the capital of South Kivu.
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The catastrophe occurred two days after floods in the neighbouring country of Rwanda killed at least 131 people and wrecked hundreds of homes.
On Saturday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent his condolences to the people who had been affected by the “catastrophic floods” in Rwanda and the DR Congo.
“This is yet another illustration of accelerating climate change and its disastrous impact on countries that have done nothing to contribute to global warming,” he said during a visit to Burundi.
According to experts, climate change is causing an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather occurrences.
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