Forty-six people have died in heavy flooding that struck the town of Uvira in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, destroying thousands of homes, local officials said on Tuesday, warning the tally could be much higher.

"The updated toll is 30 dead, but it's still very provisional as there are still people trapped in the rubble" of their homes, deputy mayor Kapenda Kyky Kifara told AFP. "It will take weeks to find people who are unaccounted for," he said.