More than 100 people, many of them children asleep in their beds, were killed when powerful overnight floods swept through a village in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, local officials told AFP on Saturday.

Triggered by torrential rains, the floods tore through Kasaba village in Sud Kivu province between Thursday night and Friday morning, said regional official Bernard Akili.

"The Kasaba River overflowed due to intense rainfall, unleashing a torrent of water that carried away everything in its path—huge rocks, uprooted trees, and thick mud—before demolishing homes along the lakeshore," Akili said.

He added that the majority of victims were children and the elderly. At least 28 people were injured, and approximately 150 homes were destroyed.

Regional administrator Sammy Kalonji confirmed the death toll had reached at least 104, describing the destruction as "enormous." A local resident later reported that around 119 bodies had been recovered by Saturday.

A remote village, located along the shores of Lake Tanganyika, is accessible only by water and lacks internet connectivity, a humanitarian worker told AFP.

Natural disasters like this are tragically common in the DRC, especially along the eastern Great Lakes region, where extensive deforestation has left surrounding hillsides increasingly vulnerable.

In 2023, similar flooding claimed the lives of 400 people in communities near Lake Kivu, also in South Kivu province.