7 out of 9 children died in a landslide triggered by heavy rains in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

At least nine people, including seven children from one family, died in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after heavy rains triggered a landslide that swept away several houses on Friday, a local official said.

A resident of Kabul village in Congo’s South Kivu province lost his wife and seven children in a landslide, territorial administrator Thomas Bakenga said by phone on Saturday.

Another child died elsewhere, Bakenga said, adding that the death toll could rise as the search for more missing people continues.

A local civil society group reported that seven houses were swept away and 31 damaged, bringing the death toll to 10.

Poor urban planning and poor infrastructure across Congo make communities more vulnerable to extreme rainfall events, which are becoming more intense and frequent in Africa as temperatures rise, climate experts say.

Heavy rains in southwestern Congo caused a gorge to collapse into a river in April, killing at least 12 people. Last December, many more people died in similar circumstances.