Approximately 30 individuals have lost their lives due to flooding in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, as reported by the provincial health minister on Sunday. The heavy rains over the weekend caused significant damage to homes and infrastructure.
“The current death toll is not final, but it stands at around thirty,” stated Patricien Gongo Abakazi in an interview with Reuters.
The Ndjili River, which flows through the city of approximately 17 million residents, overflowed its banks on Friday night, obstructing the main national highway and leaving motorists stranded since Saturday evening.
“While returning home from the airport last night to greet a friend, we had to spend the night in our car because there was nowhere safe to park,” recounted Patricia Mikonga, a local resident.
Many neighborhoods are currently experiencing power outages.
Kerene Yala, who lives in the Makala district, mentioned that the primary issue in her area is the disruption of the water supply.
Kinshasa Governor Daniel Bumba Lubaki acknowledged that the water infrastructure had been impacted but assured that services would be restored within two to three days.
In a televised address, he attributed some of the fatalities to illegal housing and warned of potential evictions from informal settlements.
Hydrologist Dr. Raphael Tshimanga Muamba noted that human activities have adversely affected the river over time.
“These are human-induced actions that have led to the degradation of rivers, causing them to lose their original capacity to manage floods,” he explained to Reuters.
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This flooding occurs at a particularly precarious time for the Central African nation, as M23 rebels, allegedly supported by Rwanda, have escalated their offensive in the volatile eastern region, resulting in over 7,000 deaths in the first two months of the year.
