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Torrential rains, landslides kill 22 in DR Congo

drc floods

This aerial photograph taken on May 6, 2023 shows a landslide that engulfed Nyamukubi village, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Heavy rainfall in the Kalehe region of South Kivu province on has caused rivers to overflow, causing landslides.

Photo credit: Glody Murhabazi | AFP

Torrential rains triggering landslides on Tuesday killed at least 22 people and caused massive damage in central Democratic Republic of Congo, regional authorities said.

More than 15 houses were swept away in the landslides caused by the downpours overnight and into Tuesday in Kananga, the capital of the Kasai-Central region, according to the press service of the regional governor.

Among the victims was a woman and her eight children who died in one house, while a father and four children were killed in another, it said.

On Sunday around 20 people were swept away when a river flooded in the South Kivu region in the east of the country.

DR Congo is a vast country roughly the size of continental western Europe. Rich in minerals, it is one of Africa's poorest nations, with dilapidated infrastructure and often shoddy construction.