Congo Flash Floods Kill More than 200

By Staff, Agencies

More than 200 people have lost their lives due to a flash flood in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after heavy rain destroyed buildings and forced aid workers to gather mud-clad corpses into piles.

According to South Kivu governor Theo Ngwabije, dozens of people were unaccounted for in the Kalehe region, west of Lake Kivu and near the Rwandan border, where the floods on Friday also washed away hundreds of homes.

"This toll is provisional," he added. "We also have about 100 people missing."

Archimede Karhebwa, the assistant administrator of Kalehe has also said that several villages in Kalehe were inundated when rivers burst their banks after heavy rains.

Karhebwa further added that the floods carried away hundreds of houses and also "surprised vendors and their clients in the markets."

The government has announced that a day of national mourning will be observed on Monday with flags lowered to half-mast "in memory of the lost compatriots."

A local civil society member, Kasole Martin, said 227 bodies had been found.

"People are sleeping out in the open, schools and hospitals have been swept away," Martin said.

Red Cross workers in blue scrubs placed bodies on top of each other, while many had lost clothing and covered in dirt.

Dozens of survivors were being treated at a local hospital, after sustaining injuries during the flood.

However, they did not have enough medicine and equipment to properly treat the injured.

The rainfall in the Kalehe territory in South Kivu province caused rivers to overflow on Thursday, immersing the villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi.

South Kivu shares borders with Rwanda and heavy rains also triggered flooding and landslides in Rwanda this week, killing 130 people and destroying more than 5,000 homes.

Experts say extreme weather events in Africa are happening with increased frequency and intensity due to climate change.

It is not the first time that heavy rain hits the country, as floods and landslides are common incidents in South Kivu.

A heavy rainfall in Congo destroyed over 700 homes in 2014 and more than 130 people were reported missing at the time, according to the United Nations.