Flooding in central Africa turns deadly, thousands of structures destroyed

Rounds of heavy rain and thunderstorms resulted in devastating flooding in parts of central Africa late last week and over the weekend.

Heavy downpours late last week caused the beds of Lake Tanganyika and the Mulongwe River to overflow, sending floodwaters through the town of Uvira, located in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

As of late Monday, local time, it has been reported that at least 54 people have been killed by the flooding as search and rescue efforts continue. Another report stated over 5,000 structures have been destroyed and about 1,000 more have sustained damage.

The president of the DRC offered his deepest condolences to the bereaved families, in a statement on Twitter.

"Rainfall has been well above normal across western Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania into the Democratic Republic of Congo since January and even going back to October," explained AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jason Nicholls.

Additional areas of rain and thunderstorms are forecast in the coming days in Uvira and around 75 mm (3 inches) of rain can fall this week alone. Uvira typically reports around 151 mm (6 inches) of rain for the entire month of April.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

An area in western Kenya was also ravaged by flooding over the weekend. A landslide caused River Chesegon to burst its banks. This same area fell victim to flooding issues late last year.

On Saturday, the floodwaters raced through an area near the border of Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot counties, sweeping away homes, schools, a marketplace and a police post.

As of Tuesday, it was reported that the death toll has risen to 12, including 3 police officers.

The Kenya Red Cross has been aiding in the search and rescue operations.

Areas impacted by the floods are unreachable due to flooded roadways and bridges being swept away. Some of the roadways have been missing since flooding took them out in 2019.

Rainfall totals in parts of Kenya can reach up to 100 mm (4 inches) throughout the week as recovery efforts continue.

"It doesn't look like the rain really eases in Kenya until around the middle of next week at the earliest," stated Nicholls. "The waters off eastern Africa remain warmer than normal which may be helping keep the wet pattern going."

Periods of heavy rainfall in other areas of central Africa continue to increase the number of towns impacted by flooding.

Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

Report a Typo