By Joyce Ojanji
Following floods and the landslides that hit two villages in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) last week, more than 400 people have died and several injured.
The floods, which occurred between the 4th and 5th of May, were caused by heavy rainfall which resulted in the overflow of rivers and created mudslides that devastated the villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi in South Kivu.
The disaster came two days after floods killed 131 people and destroyed thousands of homes in neighboring Rwanda, on the other side of Lake Kivu.
This follows a prior flooding in the country in December 2022 which killed more than 120 people after heavy rains caused severe flooding in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa.
‘’Hundreds of people have died, many others remain missing and about 150 wounded people have already been admitted in different health structures. Some villages have been completely erased by floods including all the houses, the fields and livestock,’’ said Ulrich Crepin Namfeibona, Emergency Coordinator, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) after visiting the affected villages.
He noted that the pressing need was to organize the evacuation of severely injured people to ensure they get timely and appropriate medical care.
“As of today, our team managed to refer 36 patients by boat to hospitals in Kalehe and Bukavu. We have also been donating body bags, medicines and medical supplies to several health structures to treat the patients only slightly wounded. We will continue monitoring the situation in the next days to evaluate the medical and humanitarian need,’’ Namfeibona said.
The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on a visit to Burundi noted that the flood disaster is another illustration of accelerating climate change and its disastrous impact on countries that have done nothing to contribute to global warming.
The UN climate experts have warned that the rising temperatures increase the intensity and frequency of rains across Africa.
