Severe flooding in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kinshasa, has claimed at least 30 lives, with torrential rains over the weekend causing widespread destruction.
The Ndjili River, which flows through the city of approximately 17 million people, overflowed its banks on Friday (4 April) night, flooding major roads, collapsing homes, and leaving many residents stranded. Provincial health minister Patricien Gongo Abakazi confirmed the provisional death toll on Sunday (6 April), noting that many of the fatalities were caused by collapsed walls. The flooding also disrupted daily life, with large sections of Kinshasa plunged into darkness and some neighborhoods facing water shortages. Kinshasa governor Daniel Bumba Lubaki acknowledged the damage to the city’s water infrastructure but assured residents that the supply would be restored within days.
Experts, including hydrologist Raphael Tshimanga Muamba, pointed to human activity as a contributing factor, highlighting the degradation of rivers due to urbanization and illegal construction. “These are anthropogenic actions where rivers are degraded; their dimensions no longer represent their initial capacity to contain floods,” Muamba said. The Congolese government has warned that people living in unplanned settlements may face eviction in response to the damage caused. This disaster comes amid growing instability in the country, with violence from Rwanda-backed M23 rebels intensifying in the east, further straining the nation’s resources. The flooding adds to the challenges facing DRC, where millions of people are already displaced due to ongoing conflict.