bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

More than 120 people were killed on Tuesday as the worst floods in years battered DR Congo’s capital Kinshasa following an all-night downpour, authorities said in a provisional assessment.
Major roads in the centre of Kinshasa, a city of some 15 million people, were submerged for hours, and a key supply route was cut off.
The death toll – which was first estimated in the late afternoon to be at least 55 – jumped to more than 120 by nightfall.
The government has announced three days of national mourning beginning Wednesday, according to a statement from Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde’s office.
City police chief General Sylvano Kasongo said that the bulk of people dead were on hillside locations where there had been landslides.
Located on the Congo River, Kinshasa has seen a huge population influx in recent years.
Floods, landslides in Philippines kill at least 31
Many dwellings are shanty houses built on flood-prone slopes, and the city suffers from inadequate drainage and sewerage.
A major landslide occurred in the hilly district of Mont-Ngafula, smothering National Highway 1, a key supply route linking the capital with Matadi, a port further down the Congo River and a crucial outlet to the Atlantic Ocean.
Lukonde told reporters at the scene that about 20 people there had died when “homes were swept away”.
Searches are continuing for survivors, he said.

The highway should be reopened to small vehicles within the next day, but it could take “three or four days” for trucks, the prime minister said.
The streets of the upmarket Gombe district – home to government buildings and usually spared the problems affecting other areas of Kinshasa such as inadequate waste disposal and power supplies – were also inundated.
Poorly regulated rapid urbanisation has made the city increasingly vulnerable to flash floods after intense rains, which have become more frequent due to climate change.
Why Pakistan ‘super floods’ are a warning for South Asia, rest of the world
In November 2019, around 40 people in Kinshasa died in floods and landslides.
The country’s president joined the United States in blaming climate change for the major floods.
“The DRC is under pressure but unfortunately it’s not sufficiently heard or supported,” President Felix Tshisekedi told Secretary of State Antony Blinken as they met at a US-Africa summit in Washington.


The flooding is an example of “what we have been deploring for some time,” he said.
“Support must come from countries that pollute and unfortunately trigger the harmful consequences in our countries that lack the means to protect themselves,” he said.
Blinken offered condolences for the deaths, saying the flooding was “further evidence of the challenges we are facing with climate and something we need to work on together”.
Despite a series of international conferences, scientists say the planet is far off course from meeting a UN-blessed goal of checking warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
Additional reporting by Reuters


Heavy flooding in Indonesian resort island of Bali prompts tourist evacuations

Sabah quake strongest to hit Malaysia in 11 years, tremors felt in Singapore

8 skiers found dead and 1 still missing after California avalanche

‘Absolutely terrifying’ New Zealand storm leaves 30,000 homes without power

Natural disasters

Flooding kills more than 120 in DR Congo capital

Many dwellings are shanty houses built on flood-prone slopes. Photo: Reuters

Belongings and debris after the downpour in Kinshasa. Photo: AP

Gridlocked and flood-prone, Vietnam’s biggest city struggles to keep pace with its own breakneck growth

People ride mopeds and motorcycles through a flooded street in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Shutterstock

Riders sit in traffic in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam’s biggest city is prone to congestion and gridlock. Photo: Shutterstock

Plans for various bridges, ports, ring roads, parks, and cultural spaces for Ho Chi Minh City remain on paper years after being announced. Photo: AFP

Houses are seen along the Xuyen Tam canal in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: AFP

Construction on Ho Chi Minh City’s metro is seen in 2015. The line was initially set to open in 2018, but has been beset by cost overruns and delays. Photo: Shutterstock

At least 17 dead and 17 missing as flash flood hits China’s northwest

Heavy rain started in Datong county in Qinghai province in northwestern China on Wednesday and by Thursday at least 16 people were reported dead and dozens were missing. Photo: Xinhua via AP

A rescue team is mobilised in China after a flash flood claimed the lives of at least 16 people in Datong county of Xining, Qinghai province. Photo: Weibo

Heavy rain that started on Wednesday added to extreme rainfall from just days earlier in Datong county. Photo: Weibo

After flood deaths, will South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol follow through on vow to ban ‘Parasite-style’ basement flats?

A man walks past an unscrewed security grill for a basement flat known as ‘banjiha’ where three tenants, including a disabled woman and a teenager, died after they were trapped by floodwaters in their basement home in Seoul on August 11. Photo: AFP

Workers clear a waterlogged, mud-covered ‘banjiha’ in the Gwanak district of Seoul on August 11, after flooding caused by record-breaking rains. Photo: AFP

Partially submerged road signs are seen as waters from the flooded Han River flows over a bridge in Seoul on August 10. Photo: AFP

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (front) inspects a submerged semi-basement home in Gwanak Ward, Seoul on August 9 where three family members were stranded and later found dead after heavy rainfall began pounding Seoul and parts of central South Korea the previous day. Photo: EPA-EFE/YONHAP

A bedroom is seen in a ‘banjiha’. Photo: AFP

Kentucky flood death toll hits 28 with more bodies expected ‘for weeks’

A school bus, along with other debris, sits in a creek near Jackson, Kentucky on Sunday. Photo: AFP

President Joe Biden has issued a disaster declaration for the Kentucky flooding. Photo: Kentucky National Guard

A Kentucky National Guard helicopter during a rescue operation. Photo: Reuters

News

World

Africa


Heavy rains unleashed floods and caused landslides in Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital Kinshasa
Dozens reported dead as African nation’s president blames climate change for devastation



The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo joined the United States in blaming climate change for major floods that have claimed more than 120 lives in the capital Kinshasa.


Extreme weather

Climate change

Weather

Environment