Heavy rains kill 30 people in Kinshasa, DR Congo
The rainfall began late Friday and continued through Saturday morning, leaving major transport routes impassable.
Torrential downpours have claimed the lives of at least 30 people in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, following a night of relentless rain that caused widespread flooding and destruction across the megacity.
“There are many wounded who have been evacuated and for the moment we are in the 30s for the number of dead,” confirmed Patricien Gongo Abakazi, Kinshasa’s provincial minister of public health, in a statement to AFP on Sunday.
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The victims reportedly drowned or died after the walls of their homes collapsed amid the flooding. Entire neighbourhoods, particularly in the poorer, outlying areas of Kinshasa — a sprawling city home to more than 17 million people — have been submerged under rising water levels.
The rainfall began late Friday and continued through Saturday morning, leaving major transport routes impassable. The national road one, a key artery linking the city centre to the international airport, was severely affected, along with several nearby districts.
“The situation is dire,” said Abakazi. “These areas are vulnerable due to poor infrastructure and inadequate drainage systems.”
Kinshasa, which sits along the banks of the River Congo Africa’s second-largest river after the Nile is no stranger to seasonal flooding. However, Saturday’s deluge is one of the deadliest in recent memory.
Authorities are now working to assess the full scale of the damage, while emergency teams continue rescue and recovery operations in the worst-affected zones. Calls have been made for improved urban planning and investment in drainage systems to prevent further tragedies in a city where informal settlements are increasingly vulnerable to climate-related disasters.
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