401 dead and several injured, this is the toll of the recent floods in the various villages of the territory of Kalehe in the province of South Kivu. The government delegation gave this report Monday in Bukavu without giving more details on the number of missing. But in Kalehe whole families hope to find theirs.
On this port of Nyamukubi, children and young people contemplate the moon late at night, they have lost everything, reports our special correspondent in Kalehe, William Basimike. ” All this place you see here, from Bushushu to Nyamukubi, even here in Lwano it was just houses, but disaster took everything, laments Delphin Habamungu, in his thirties. My house, my mother-in-law and my two sisters-in-law. So we stayed close to the harbor in the shelter. We haven’t eaten for five days, there is no drinking water. We risk dying of hunger and thirst “.
On the shores of Lake Kivu everything is dark, but Asumani Rugwiza, 43, still has his eyes fixed on Lake Kivu, he is waiting. “ I lost 20 members of my family! We’re waiting to see if we’ll find any more bodies. We found some bodies on the waters, we were told that other bodies floated in the island of Idjwi, bodies from here in Chirakara, and Nyamukubi / Center “, he explains.
The fear of epidemics
Amidst the large stones carried by the waters, some families have made straw huts and are trying to shelter there while waiting for help. The government delegation sent food and coffins on Monday, it is expected in Kalehe on Tuesday. Since Saturday, more than 200 bodies have been buried. But, a hundred others still remain to be buried. A situation that raises fears of disease outbreaks.
The government team arrived to take stock of the general situation. See how to find our missing compatriots. Unfortunately, the more days pass, the less hope there is.
Patrick Muyaya, spokesperson for the Congolese government
“ I was at the scene of the tragedy, I saw that there are still bodies not yet recovered. Normally, you have to take the bodies out and bury them, otherwise it won’t work. Afterwards, if there are rains, they will wash away the sand and the earth, so we risk having the body already in a state of putrefaction. You really need to have a team that will help find the bodies so that people are buried with dignity “, explains Jean-Paul Cikwane, doctor at the Panzi hospital in Bukavu.
Several rescue teams are hard at work trying to find the missing people. Vincent de Paul is spokesperson for the Red Cross, in direct contact with his colleagues in the province of South Kivu. “Several bodies were found in the mud and our teams are also continuing to search the rubble for other bodies that may still be buried,” he said.
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According to the Red Cross, health centers in Bukavu are overwhelmed, necessitating the deployment of doctors from other regions to support the government’s response.
The needs are enormous. Imagine that these rivers washed away big brick houses.
Martin Kasole, civil society member of Kalehe