No fewer than 30 persons have been confirmed dead after torrential rains and flood ravaged Kinshasa, the capital of the Democractic Republic of Congo.
Aside from the deceased, thousands of homes and farmlands in western Kinshasa were destroyed, with residents in neighboring areas struggling with water shortages after the city’s water treatment pumps were inundated.
As gathered, the city’s busiest road, which connects the centre to the international airport, is impassable, and part of the motorway linking the capital to the country’s main port, Matadi, has also been closed.
According to the capital’s mayor, Gentiny Mbala, who disclosed to newsmen on Monday, search and rescue teams have been sent out, stated that about half of the city’s 36 districts affected.
“The water has reached 1.5 metres high. We have just managed to save ourselves, the rest is trapped in our homes,” Christophe Bola who lives in the Ndanu area said.
While desperate residents are trying to flee the floodwaters by wading or swimming, other local residents told reporters they are angry with the authorities, accusing them of being too slow to react and not sending enough help.
Meanwhile, President Felix Tshisekedi has assured residents of taking measures to mitigate the flood, saying, “The republic will not abandon you.”
Kinshasa city is home to 17 million people and sits on the Congo river, which is one of the biggest in the world and stretches across the country.
Flooding is common in the region as the Congo river recently reached its highest level in six decades.
Parts of the capital are prone to soil erosion and in recent years the Congolese president has warned that the climate crisis is making flooding worse.
Further heavy downpours are expected in Kinshasa in the coming weeks, as well as in the eastern city of Goma which was seized by rebel forces earlier this year.
The national meteorological agency also warns of heavy rains elsewhere, especially in the north and north-east of the country.
