Destructive floods claim over 100 lives in South Kivu, DR Congo
Over 100 people were killed in Kasaba Village, South Kivu Province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, after the Kasaba River overflowed following heavy rainfall between May 8 and 9, 2025. The resulting floods damaged more than 150 homes, injured multiple residents, and devastated the surrounding area.
Floods in Kasaba Village in DR Congo on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Image credit: Association Chrétienne des Humanitaristes
Heavy rains struck the South Kivu Province in eastern DR Congo between May 8 and 9 leading to severe floods as the Kasaba River overflowed, claiming over 100 lives in the Kasaba Village.
There are varying reports of the fatalities. The provincial government, temporarily based in Uvira, reports 62 deaths, while Fizi’s Civil Society puts forth a much higher toll of 109 confirmed fatalities and many more reported missing.
Meanwhile, 104 deaths have been confirmed by rescue operatives, while some local reports state that 119 bodies were recovered following the flooding. Most of the victims include children and elderly residents who were caught in the flooding while asleep.
The floodwaters tore through the village carrying boulders, trees, and mud, causing widespread damage and leaving multiple injured and damaging hundreds of homes in the area. Local authorities confirmed that the flood caused 30 injuries and destroyed over 150 homes, along with the fatalities.
The spokesperson for the provincial government of South Kivu, Didier Kabi, has warned of the growing risk of waterborne diseases in the region as rainfall continues.
An emergency response team has been dispatched to the area by the provincial Ministry of Health and Humanitarian Action. Governor Jean-Jacques Purusi has reached out to national authorities to coordinate a large-scale humanitarian response.
The floods have damaged multiple agricultural fields in the area, threatening the livelihoods of many families. Schools and other institutions remain closed across the region as many are left homeless.
Kasaba’s isolation along Lake Tanganyika, accessible only by water and without internet, has hindered rescue and communication efforts.
Floods are a recurring natural disaster in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, regularly affecting vulnerable communities across the country. In May 2023, severe flooding and landslides triggered by intense rainfall struck several localities near Lake Kivu, particularly in South Kivu Province’s Kalehe Territory. Villages such as Bushushu and Nyamukubi were among the worst affected, with at least 438 fatalities reported and thousands of people displaced. The event was one of the deadliest in the country’s recent history and highlighted the chronic risks posed by seasonal rainfall, deforestation, and inadequate infrastructure in the region.
Meanwhile, about 6.9 million people in West and Central Africa were affected by torrential rains and serious floods in West and Central Africa in 2024, according to figures from the UN Bureau for Humanitarian Affairs Coordination (OCHA).
I am an Assistant Editor and Severe Weather & Science Journalist at The Watchers, specializing in real-time severe weather coverage, geophysical event reporting, and research-driven scientific analysis. You can reach me at rishav(at)watchers(.)news.
Correction: I did find a Kasaba River, decently large, and village in Zambia, with airport, but not DRC. There is even wikipedia about it. Kasaba Bay Airport (IATA: ZKB, ICAO: FLKY).
Yes that is correct, but there is a settlement of the same name in Congo as well which you can verify this here: https://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/democratic-republic-congo-floods-mettelsat-media-echo-daily-flash-12-may-2025
There might have been some discrepancy in the search, as the village gets its name from the Kasaba river flowing nearby. This might also happen, as many African villages don’t have English names and often get referred to by the name of nearby landmarks, such as water bodies and lakes. The settlement mentioned in the article isn’t well-connected to the outside world as it doesn’t have internet, which could also be the reason you may not have found it on search.
Thats terrible and fact very few people know anything about the region. Even within Africa, the whole of Eastern DRC is quite mysterious, very marginalized, a no man’s land. Which allows problems unchecked to fester even further. Checked on Google Earth cannot find any such village, maybe it is new and or not gazetted, but there is a Kahiba at 4 deg 38 S, 28 deg 56 E, elevation 1879 m, far higher than lake at 768 m, less than 20 km from lakeshore. While its sounds true lake villages may be only accessible by boat, as roads do not cut through steep parallel to lake mountains, there should be some coordination framework and network among nations as well as goods supplies, large cities do dot the lake periphery, but I would not be surprised if all efforts ad hoc and relatively uninterested as very far, world away from capital cities, split among so many countries.