The provisional death toll, announced late on Friday by the provincial governor, was at least 176 dead.
“Here in Bushushu, 203 bodies have already been removed from the rubble,” said Thomas Bakenga, administrator of Kalehe territory, where the affected villages are located.
It was not possible to evaluate the full extent of the human losses and material damage, he told local media.
Heavy rainfall in the Kalehe region of South Kivu province on Thursday caused rivers to overflow, causing landslides that engulfed the villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi.
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