nearly 400 dead after floods and landslides, according to a provisional report

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Several villages were submerged and many houses were swept away under the effect of torrential rains that occurred Thursday in the country.

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The port of Vitshumbi, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, on April 3, 2023. (photo illustration) (ALEXIS HUGUET / AFP)

The toll is mounting in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The floods and landslides, caused by heavy rains Thursday, May 4 in South Kivu, killed at least 394 people, according to a new report communicated on Sunday by Thomas Bakenga, administrator of the territory of Kalehe. He reported Saturday at least 203 dead. “Since Thursday, we find bodies every minute and we bury them”he explained to AFP on Sunday.

Several villages were submerged, many houses washed away, fields devastated, when rivers came out of their beds under the effect of torrential rains. On the spot, the victims lack everything.

A day of national mourning on Monday

According to Thomas Bakenga, “The provincial government gave assistance: a boat full of food (beans, flour), tarpaulins, medicines…” Following Friday’s Council of Ministers, Kinshasa announced the dispatch of a “government mission to support the provincial government in the management of this disaster”.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also said it dispatched an emergency team to the scene on Saturday. In addition, a day of national mourning (Monday) has been decreed.


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