Heavy floods in the South Kivu Province town of Kalehe in east Democratic Republic of Congo have resulted in the death of over 170 people while about 100 remain missing.
Several villages in Kalehe were left submerged with houses washed away after heavy rains and landslides in the region on Thursday.
South Kivu governor Theo Ngwabidje visited most affected villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi on Friday and revealed that government had started giving care to survivors.
An official statement from government announced that the provisional toll stood at 170, with over 100 missing.
Government also revealed that it will be covering all funeral expenses for the deceased as survivors continue receiving treatment at Ihusi General Hospital while those found to be in critical conditions maybe evacuated for proper medical attention in Bukavu.
Meanwhile, Governor Ngwabidje revealed that drastic measures were being taken to avoid a repeat of such fatal disasters in future.
Some of the measures to be taken would include the relocation of people to safer areas in an effort to avoid such disasters that have been recurrent in the region.
Ngwabidje also announced that government was planning on urgently revamping the RN2 national road that links many areas in the nation to help the return of normal socio economic activities in Kalehe.
Meanwhile, reactions to the disaster are pouring in from across the country.
Opposition leader Moïse Katumbi, who is president of Ensemble pour le Republique (Together for the Republic) and Congolese Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Denis Mukwege have sent messages of solidarity to the victims as well as to the bereaved families.
“The terrible tragedy of Chabondo, Kabushungu, Nyamukubi and Minova leaving thousands of families in distress calls for a great outpouring of national solidarity and urgent government assistance to the victims. All my condolences to the bereaved families,” tweeted Katumbi.
Dr. Mukwege, meanwhile, says he learned with great sorrow the sad news of the highly damaging natural and human disaster caused by the floods which notably claimed the lives of more than one hundred and seventy people, destroyed essential infrastructure to the local economy of this region of the DRC.
