Up to 50 feared dead in Congo storms

At least 46 people were feared dead after the worst storms in a decade lashed eastern Congo, workers said today.

The storms come three weeks after a volcanic eruption razed much of the city of Goma.

Rescuers searching the wreckage of houses destroyed by rain and flash floods that hit the town of Uvira on Wednesday night said over 600 people had lost their homes.

"We have so far found 15 bodies, 31 more are missing, they must be under the rocks," said the president of Uvira's branch of the Congolese Red Cross.

Initial estimates put the death toll at about 19.

Town officials said it was the worst tempest for more than 10 years to hit Uvira, which lies near the Democratic Republic of Congo's border with Burundi.