Flooding in DR Congo’s Kinshasa leave dozens of deaths, destroy homes

Heavy rains have triggered severe flooding from a key river in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa, killing at least 33 people and destroying homes and roads.

Provincial Health Minister Patricien Gongo provided the death toll on Sunday but emphatically stated it was “provisional”. Adding that most of the fatalities in the deluge were caused by collapsing walls.

The Ndjili River, which cuts through the streaming city of nearly 17 million people, breaking its banks on Friday night, submersing the main national road. Motorists were left isolated for hours, with some spending the entire night in their cars.

In an interview Patricia Mikonga, a resident of Kinshasa said that, “On her way home from the airport to welcome a friend, they spent the night in the car because there was no safe place to park”.

Many neighbourhoods were immersed in total shadow, while others endured water shortages.

Kinshasa Governor Daniel Bumba Lubaki said water infrastructure had been dented but assured residents that append would be restored within days. Speaking in an interview, he blamed illegal housing for some of the deaths, warning that people living in unplanned settlements could face eviction.

Raphael Tshimanga Muamba, a hydrologist, said human activity had aggravated the river’s condition over time.

He said to the media that, “These are anthropogenic actions where rivers are degraded however, their dimensions no longer represent their initial capacity to contain floods”.

The flooding comes as the country faces rising instability with conflict in the eastern part of the country. Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have ramped up attacks there since the start of the year, with more than 7,000 people killed and millions displaced in recent months.