Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was again hit by floods on Tuesday after heavy rain fell there all morning. At least four people have died in the floods. And in several neighborhoods, residents woke up with their feet in the water in a city that is expanding more and more.
as reported from Kinshasa, Pascal Mulegwa
East of the capital, the inhabitants of the municipality of Limete as Jonathan know well the vandalism of the floods. Fortunately, the municipality did not have to count the dead, but Jonathan, his lost gaze, can no longer return to his house unless he uses a canoe.
“I live around Twelfth Street, but I’m stuck here in the beginning. The Kalamu River has risen from its bed and you see for yourself that it is impossible to move. The floods are outrageous. Impossible. We wait here until the water level drops. It has become a way of life in Congo, we suffer in this country. ”
Mining of dikes
The situation is the same for Israel, stunned: “This is the first time I see such a flood that has blocked all entrances, we are completely blocked. We have fallen into a state of stagnation. ”
A little further, in Lemba, dikes broke up in the face of the flood, and houses were flooded as they passed. At the end of the morning flood, loss of human life was recorded in Kinsenso in the southern part of the city. Children from the same family were engulfed by plots of land that collapsed.
The families of the victims are awaiting help from the authorities. The same ones that for many years have threatened to break down anarchic structures without intervening.
We need to try to clean up the city and modernize the sewage network, no matter what the pipes are. There we are working on it. It is true that it is not easy because it really takes energy to make decisions that are sometimes unpopular because people do not understand the need to break certain anarchic structures built on the pipes. But there we have no choice, we really need brave decisions, because in Kinshasa you have constructions, buildings built on the main water evacuation routes. You have constructions, buildings on the sewers. And that really prevents the water from flowing towards the Congo River.
Charles Mbutamuntu, Minister of the Interior
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