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Congo Floods: Several Missing While Thousands Injured

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The floods in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo resulted in a higher death toll on Tuesday with volunteers discovering more bodies in the muddy waters, and injured residents dying in the ill-equipped local clinic. 

Five days ago, floods broke through the riverside villages of Nyamukubi and Bushushu, situated in the remote and mountainous region of South Kivi province, destroying homes, crops and taking the lives of over 400 people. These floods were the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Congo. 

On Tuesday, Paul Serushago, a survivor, was still searching for the bodies of two of his family members as he dug deep in the mud and waste leading halfway to the doorway of their home in Nyamukubi. During his short break from searching, he said, “We’ve been looking for them since Friday and we haven’t found them yet.”

The degree of demolition shows how defenseless the people in parts of Africa are to climate change, with inadequate urban planning and unstable infrastructure making people vulnerable against climate disasters. 

A reporter from the British news agency, Reuters, present at the scene stated that entire neighborhoods in Nyamukubi were run over with boulders until the stench of the dead bodies could be detected from the surface. The homeless people were sheltered in the few public buildings that still stood, consisting of poor hygienic conditions.

More than 8,000 people need aid as per the Red Cross. Help measures were halted due to insufficient connection and resources. 

A spokesperson of 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.”

Thomas Bakenga Zirimwabagabo, a local administrator, said over 5,500 people are still missing.

A few coffins, blankets, and food were brought by government officials, and they also gave monetary donations to a local medical center where three people died on Tuesday. They provided $1,100 to each of the 200 affected families.

But the officials did not participate in the burials, nor did they visit Bushushu, where the death rates from the floods were said to be high as it was market day when the flood hit the area.

While several shed tears for losing their loved ones, damaged crops, and razed houses, some requested the government to provide shelters far from areas where water flows strongly down the muddy hillsides, expanding the river flowing by their houses.

The dead bodies were put inside mass graves by the aid workers on the weekend which received criticism from society groups and demanded the government to ensure dignified burials were given to the victims.

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