30 Killed In DR Congo Flood
About 30 people have been killed in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, following torrential rains over the weekend that caused widespread flooding and destruction, authorities reported on Sunday.
The Ndjili River, which runs through part of the city of around 17 million people, overflowed its banks on Friday night, blocking the main national road and leaving drivers stranded since Saturday evening, according to Reuters.
Provincial Health Minister Patricien Gongo Abakazi confirmed the preliminary death toll. “The death toll is provisional, but so far there are around thirty dead,” he said.
Residents described harrowing experiences as the floodwaters surged through their neighborhoods.
Patricia Mikonga, a Kinshasa resident, recounted her ordeal, stating: “On the way home from the airport last night to welcome a friend, we spent the night in the car because there was no safe place to park.”
The storm left several areas without electricity, and some districts also faced water supply issues.
Kerene Yala, a resident of Makala district, noted that the most pressing concern in her area was the lack of running water.
Kinshasa Governor, Daniel Bumba Lubaki, acknowledged the damage to water infrastructure and promised that water supply would be restored within two to three days.
In a televised address, Lubaki blamed illegal housing in flood-prone areas for contributing to the fatalities and warned of possible evictions in unregulated settlements.
Hydrologist Dr. Raphael Tshimanga Muamba pointed to human activity as the root cause of the disaster..
“These are anthropogenic actions where rivers are degraded; their dimensions no longer represent their initial capacity to contain floods,” he told Reuters.
The disaster in the Central African nation came amidst heightened instability.
In the east, Rwanda-backed M23 rebels ramped up attacks since the start of the year, resulting in over 7,000 deaths within the first two months of 2025.
30 Killed In DR Congo Flood is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
