Flood Kills At Least 50 in DR Congo

At least 50 people have been killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital Kinshasa after heavy rains unleashed floods and caused landslides.

The city’s police chief, Sylvano Kasongo said the entire neighbourhoods were flooded with muddy water, and houses and roads were ripped apart by sinkholes, including the N1 highway that connects Kinshasa to the chief seaport of Matadi.

“We are already at around 50 deaths and that is not yet final,” he said.

Images posted on Twitter by Congo’s government spokesman, Patrick Muyaya showed a major road that appeared to have subsided into a deep chasm, with crowds staring at the damage.

Muyaya said “several dozen compatriots” had died.

He added that the prime minister, governor, and other officials were on the ground making assessments and would give a final toll later.

Meanwhile, the prime minister’s office said in a statement that the N1 highway, which connects Kinshasa to other cities, was cut in two in the Mont-Ngafula district.

However the road should be reopened in 3-4 days, it said.

Report says at least 39 people died in Kinshasa in 2019 when torrential rain flooded low-lying districts and some buildings and roads collapsed.

REUTERS/Christopher Ojilere