APA – Kinshasa (DR Congo) – Flooding triggered by heavy rains in South Kivu province of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has killed at least 40 people, provincial authorities have confirmed.
Floods and landslides are common in the DRC during the rainy season, which runs from September to May, and leaves devastating impacts in its wake.
According to administrative officials in Kivu province, the calamity struck overnight on Tuesday, catching many residents off guard and leaving them vulnerable to the powerful forces of nature.
The heavy rainfall triggered flash floods, submerging entire neighbourhoods and displacing thousands of people from their homes.
In addition to the floods, landslides swept through several areas, burying houses and trapping residents beneath the debris, it said.
Reports said that earlier last week, at least 20 people were killed in a landslide caused by torrential rain in the village of Kalingi in Mwenga territory of South Kivu.
Reports suggest that there was significant material damage caused by the floods,
Provincial authorities said that rescue teams have been dispatched to the affected areas to search for victims.
CU/as/APA