Over 100 people have tragically lost their lives after severe flooding hit the village of Kasaba, near Lake Tanganyika in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to a local official.
The disaster struck during a particularly unstable time for the country, as M23 rebels, reportedly backed by Rwanda, have been escalating attacks in the eastern region, leading to thousands of casualties since the beginning of the year.
Samy Kalodji, the administrator of Fizi territory in South Kivu province, reported late Saturday that “more than 100 deaths” had been indicated in preliminary reports from the village.
Kasaba, although devastated by flooding, remains under the central government’s control and is not among the areas captured by the M23 insurgents.
In a separate update, South Kivu government spokesperson Didier Luganywa confirmed that the flooding occurred between Thursday night and Friday, triggered by heavy rains and strong winds that caused the Kasaba river to overflow.
That official statement cited 62 confirmed deaths and 30 people injured.
Local authorities noted that Kasaba is only reachable by travelling across Lake Tanganyika and lacks mobile phone coverage, which could further complicate and delay aid and rescue operations.