Huge Floods In The DR Congo Have Killed At Least 33 People And Forced Thousands From Their Homes
The torrential rain caused the Ndjili River, one of the biggest in Africa, to overflow on Friday, April 5, inundating major roads and homes in the city of almost 17 million residents.
Heavy torrential rains have caused, severe flooding in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), killing at least 33 people and forcing thousands of others to flee their homes.
The torrential rain caused the Ndjili River, one of the biggest in Africa, to overflow on Friday, April 5, inundating major roads and homes in the city of almost 17 million residents.
The floods submerged entire neighborhoods, damaging key routes, including the main road to Kinshasa's airport, and disrupted access to drinkable water.
Most people were killed by walls collapsing, according to Al Jazeera, and authorities have said that they believe the death toll could still rise.
"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." a Kinshasa resident Patricia Mikonga said.
“We lost everything, we didn’t recover anything.” another resident said.
President Félix Tshisekedi visited the flooded areas on Saturday, April 6, and promised the government would provide food assistance and support for displaced people.
He blamed illegal housing for the deaths and warned against settling in informal or unplanned areas, according to The New York Times.
This disaster comes as the country is already struggling with a dire humanitarian situation due to a 30-year long conflict which re-erupted in the DRC’s eastern region in January 2025 when Rwanda-backed rebels took control of the Goma, the regional capital of the Kivu region.
Since then, thousands of people have been killed and almost seven million people have been forced to flee their homes.
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