More than 200 people have been killed in flash floods and landslides in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
Authorities said many more people are missing in South Kivo province.
Thomas Bakenge, administrator of Kalehe, the most affected territory, told reporters that 203 bodies had been found so far.
Hundreds of houses were swept away in the village of Nyamukubi, where rescuers and survivors dug through the ruins in search of more bodies in the mud.
Grieving survivor Anuarite Zikujuwa said she lost her entire family, including her in-laws, as well as many of her neighbours.
“The whole village has been turned into a wasteland. Only stones remain, and we can’t even tell where our land once was,” she said.
“We have nothing”
Michake Ntamana, a rescue worker helping search and bury the dead, said villagers were trying to identify and recover the bodies of loved ones found so far.
He said that some washed bodies from villages higher up in the hills were buried simply with leaves.
“It’s really sad because we don’t have anything else here,” he said.
It comes after rivers burst their banks in villages in Kalehe near the shores of Lake Kivu on Thursday.
A survivor told The Associated Press that the flash floods came so fast they took everyone by surprise.
South Kivu Governor Theo Ngwabidje traveled to the area to see the destruction for himself.
He posted on Twitter that the provincial government had sent medical supplies, shelter and food.
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Houses were destroyed by the floods in the village of Nyamukubi. Photo: AP
Several main roads leading to the affected area were rendered impassable by the rains, hampering relief efforts.
President Félix Tshisekedi declared Monday a national day of mourning in honor of the victims, and the central government is sending a crisis management team to South Kivu to support the provincial government.
Heavy rains across East Africa in recent days have also affected parts of Uganda and Kenya.
Floods and landslides in Rwanda, which borders Congo, claimed 129 lives earlier this week.
A local government official, Mr Bakenge, said: “This is the fourth time such damage has been caused by the same rivers. Not 10 years go by without them causing huge damage.”
