Kinshasa floods kill 169

• Heavy rain and catastrophic flooding have battered the DRC.
• At least 169 people have died in Kinshasa.
• The flooding injured 30 individuals and destroyed 280 dwellings.

Heavy rain and catastrophic flooding have battered the Democratic Republic of the Congo in recent days.

At least 169 people have died in Kinshasa due to catastrophic rains, the UN and officials announced Friday.

The flooding injured 30 individuals and destroyed 280 dwellings in the 15-million-person capital, affecting 38,000 people.

Mont-Ngafula and Ngaliema were hardest hit, officials said.

and the government’s social affairs ministry inspected the damage Thursday.

Today ends three days of national mourning, OCHA declared. “The government promises a dignified and secure burial for the dead.”

Recent heavy rains have affected 8.2 million people in 20 western and central African states. UN estimates 2.9 million people have been displaced and over 500,000 dwellings destroyed.

Kinshasa, on the Congo River, has seen a massive population influx in recent years, and many homes are shanty huts built on flood-prone hillsides with poor drainage and sewerage. Recent media reports revealed murky floods flooding entire neighborhoods.

Blanchard Mvubu, a Mont-Ngafula resident, remarked, “We’ve never seen a flood this large.” “I woke up to water in the house… it’s a mess.” Nothing in the house was salvageable.

One man carried flooded victims on his back for 500 Congolese francs.

Since October, flooding has hit Equateur, Maniema, Nord-Ubangi, Sud-Ubangi, and Tshopo.

At least 39 individuals perished in Kinshasa in 2019 when severe rains flooded low-lying areas, collapsing buildings, and roadways.

At least 169 people died after heavy rains🌧️ hit Kinshasa during the night of December 12-13, according to authorities.
Humanitarian actors are standing by to support the government🇨🇩 in assisting the affected people.

↪️https://t.co/fxEdaI3RVc pic.twitter.com/BWKw9HdNzF

— OCHA DRC (@UNOCHA_DRC) December 16, 2022

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