Officials in Congo have the Democratic Republic of Congo have said that the death toll after the floods in a remote, mountainous area of South Kivu province is increasing as thousands are still missing.
The death toll after major floods in the Democratic Republic of Congo has exceeded more than 400, as authorities in the country said thousands of victims are still missing.
According to Reuters on Tuesday, May 9, survivors are still searching for their relatives, after the floods hit the remote and mountainous area of South Kivu province, five days ago.
Riverside villages of Nyamukubi and Bushushu in the area were devastated as houses and crops were destroyed.
Officials in the region state that “It was the deadliest natural disaster in recent Congo history”.
A statement by one of the survivors named Paul Serushago, who continues to search for the bodies of his family members said, “We’ve been looking for them since Friday and we haven’t found them yet”.
As per a Reuters reporter on the ground in Nyamukubi, “entire neighbourhoods have been run over with boulders, and the stink of dead bodies wafts from the earth”.
It is also being reported that the people who have been left homeless have been packed into a few buildings that have been left intact after the floods and have poor sanitation.
As per the Red Cross, more than 8,000 people are in urgent need of help.
A spokesperson for the Red Cross in South Kivu province said, “We’re not able to deal with this many bodies as urgently as needed. We’re searching for bodies with spades, with hands”.
A local administrator cited in the reports said that over 5,500 people remain unaccounted for.
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