Kikwit, January 16th, 2026 (CPA).- Four people, including one woman, have been killed, and significant property damage have been reported following the rain that fell overnight from Wednesday to Thursday in the city of Kikwit, Kwilu Province, in the southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to humanitarian sources.
“Following the rain that fell last night, we have recorded a preliminary death toll of four, including a woman who died after being struck by lightning in her home in Kikwit 2; a man has been found dead on Kwilu Avenue, buried under the rubble of a wall that collapsed on him; the other two are the manager and a guest of the Musway Hotel in the Lukolela municipality, who died in a building collapse at the hotel,” has declared the municipal president of the Red Cross in Lukolela, who has requested anonymity. “We are currently digging to extract them from the rubble and check if there are any other victims inside,” he has added. On March 25th, six people had died under similar circumstances in the city.