New floods in the Democratic Republic of Congo. After Kinshasa, the province of Mongala and Ituri, it is now Ecuador which is affected by these floods. The city of Mbandaka and its peripheral areas are currently facing rising water levels in the Congo River which has led to the destruction of many homes according to local authorities. This flood, and that of the tributaries, concerns the entire country.
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This is the most significant flood in sixty years, according to the Régie des passages fluviales. The last time was in 1961, at the port of Kinshasa. The Congo River rose to 6m26 above mean sea level. Today, this level has reached 6m05. Almost the entire port harbor of Kinshasa is under water, indicates Cédric Tshumbu, technical director of the Régie des passages fluviales, and the phenomenon affects the entire country.
“ The Congo River in Kisangani has reached eight meters. In Mbandaka and Bandudu, the ladders [des ports, NDLR] are submerged. »
This rise in the river level is due to exceptional rains in recent months, explains an official from the Riverways Authority. These precipitations are shorter but more intense, a key marker of climate change, like other phenomena, such as the very hot and very dry periods which precede them. The soils become hard and impermeable, which makes it difficult for water to infiltrate into the earth, and increases runoff.
Added to this is deforestation which slows down water infiltration and promotes flooding.
#DRC : serious flooding affects several neighborhoods in the west of the city of #Kinshasa capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, following heavy rains and the historic rise in the waters of the Congo River in recent days. pic.twitter.com/99LUMpA6aA
— acpcongo.com (@acprdc_Officiel) December 29, 2023