by Ange Kasongo and Benoit Nyemba
KINSHASA (Reuters) – The Congo River has reached its highest level in more than 60 years, causing floods in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo that have killed more than 300 people in recent months, according to the authorities.
On Wednesday, the river reached 6.20 meters above sea level, close to the 1961 record of 6.26 meters, Ferry Mowa, a hydrology specialist at the DRC riverways authority, told Reuters , integrated into the Ministry of Transport.
This flood comes after exceptionally heavy rains inland, he explains.
According to him, almost the entire plain around the DRC capital Kinshasa, which lies on the banks of the Congo River, could be affected by flooding.
“It is imperative that people who live around the river move,” warns Ferry Mowa.
Poor urban planning and insufficient infrastructure have left some African countries vulnerable to flash floods after intense rains, which have become more frequent due to climate change.
Several neighborhoods in Kinshasa, as well as localities located in more than a dozen provinces, were flooded, the DRC Ministry of Social Affairs reported.
In a statement released last week, the ministry said nearly 300 people died in the floods which affected 300,000 homes and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.
In neighboring Republic of Congo, whose capital Brazzaville also lies on the Congo River, at least 17 people have died in floods in eight departments, including the capital, and more than 60,000 households have been affected, authorities said. to Reuters.
NO PREVENTION PLAN
Some residents are using shovels to clear their way through flooded streets where water has risen to the roofs of some homes. Floodwaters also washed away thousands of discarded plastic bottles and other debris that now clutters the streets.
In the town of Ngaliema, west of Kinshasa, the house of Hélène, a resident of the neighborhood, was submerged.
“I have lived in this neighborhood since I was born and I have never experienced such an event, but I cannot afford to live elsewhere,” she explains.
Raphael Tshimanga Muamba, director of a Congo Basin research center in the DRC, regretted that the country did not have a flood prevention plan and called for the creation of a fund to help manage natural disasters.
“I’m not surprised to see the water level rising so much,” says Ketsia Passou, an 18-year-old environmental activist.
“What surprises me the most is the silence of the authorities to help these families who are suffering from the effects of climate change.”
DRC Social and Humanitarian Affairs Minister Modeste Mutinga told Reuters a meeting would be held on Thursday to assess additional humanitarian aid.
(Reporting by Ange Kasongo, Benoit Nyemba and Christian Elion, written by Portia Crowe and Anait Miridzhanian, Blandine Hénault for the French version, edited by Kate Entringer)
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