Felix Nkambeh Tih
December 10, 2015•Update: December 10, 2015
KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Torrential rains and flooding have killed 31 people and destroyed more than 20,000 homes over the past two weeks in several neighborhoods of Kinshasa, local authorities revealed late Wednesday.
"We recorded 31 deaths caused by the collapse of thousands of homes in the city since Nov. 19," Emmanuel Akweti, Kinshasa provincial interior minister said.
Most deaths occurred in neighborhoods inhabited by poorer people around the Congo River.
"We recorded 450 millimeters of rain, one-third of the annual rainfall of the entire city of Kinshasa," Akweti added, linking the downpour to climate change.
With the collapse of their homes, nearly 20,000 families were obliged to spend the night outside in less-affected sites.
The Congolese authorities have, however, called on residents around the Congo River to move before heavy rains come back at the end of December.
Due to damages caused by the torrential rains, many neighborhoods have no access to safe drinking water. The water supply company said several pumping stations had been damaged in the eastern part of Kinshasa.
Meanwhile, Congolese civil society has accused the government for doing nothing for the past 20 years to ameliorate the living conditions in these neighborhoods.
However, according to the authorities, they have warned residents of these neighborhoods about the dangerous and unsafe nature of their buildings.
