At Least 33 Dead After Torrential Rain and Flooding Hit Congolese Capital, President Says Country 'Will Not Abandon’ Residents

Dozens of people are dead after torrential rains and heavy flooding struck Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to multiple news outlets.

At least 33 people were reported dead and hundreds of buildings were flooded as of Sunday, April 6 after the Ndjili River located near the city overflowed following heavy rains, according to the BBC, Sky News and Associated Press, which cited local authorities.

Congolese Interior Minister Jacquemin Shabani confirmed on local news stations that an additional ten people were added to the death toll in addition to the 23 people killed the day prior as a result of the extreme weather.

Most of the fatalities occurred after walls collapsed shortly after the torrential rains began, the outlets reported, citing officials.

Flooding improved on Monday, April 7, though access to some parts of the city was still blocked and traffic was limited, the AP reported. The roadway to the city’s airport was also damaged by the flooding but was expected to be reopened within three days, Kinshasa’s governor Daniel Bumba said over the weekend, per Sky News.

Félix Tshisekedi, the president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, told victims of the flooding, per BBC, that he had called a government crisis meeting and said, "The republic will not abandon you."

The capital's mayor also shared, per the outlet, that about half of the city's 26 districts were affected by flooding — including the city’s outskirts and some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. He also noted that search and rescue teams have been sent out.

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Several residents in the city criticized the government for their response to the situation. One person who witnessed the flooding told AFP News Agency that they had to act fast to “save” themselves from the rising waters, which swept away several homes between Friday and Saturday.

"The water has reached 1.5m [4.9ft] high,” Christophe Bola told the outlet, per the BBC. “We have just managed to save ourselves, the rest [are] trapped in our homes.”

Marie Nzol, another resident who had her home destroyed, told the AP that she and her family “lost everything and left everything behind.” She added, “The rain caught us by surprise late at night.”

The Congolese government set up at least four emergency shelters across the city for displaced families to go to following the floods, the Congolese interior ministry told the AP, also noting that several water facilities were affected, impacting access to safe drinking water.

This isn’t the first time flooding has killed several people in Kinshasa, home to about 17 million people, the BBC reported. At least 100 people died in 2022 due to similar flooding that hit the area.