Flood deaths in Kinshasa force president Félix Tshisekedi to cut short his US trip

KINSHASA - The president of the Democratic Republic of Congo Félix Tshisekedi is expected back in Kinshasa this Thursday following a flooding disaster that has claimed the lives of more than 120 in the administration capital –Kinshasa.

Tshisekedi who is part of the 50 African heads of state and African Union leaders at the ongoing US-Africa leaders’ summit in Washington D.C says he will now cut short his trip to attend to the emergency.

In a Twitter post, president Tshisekedi says he will return home on Thursday after his meeting with US President Joe Biden.

Three days of national mourning have already been declared and the president has told state agencies to assist the affected families and start rebuilding damaged infrastructure.

While meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the summit, President Tshisekedi blamed the floods on climate change.
The heavy torrential rain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital, Kinshasa caused widespread floods and landslides causing the death of at least 120 people.

Entire neighbourhoods were flooded with muddy water, and houses and roads were ripped apart by sinkholes and landslides, including the N1 highway that connects Kinshasa to the country’s main seaport of Matadi.

The prime minister’s office had earlier revealed in a statement that the road could be closed for as long as four days.

According to Health minister Jean-Jacques Mbungani Mbanda who addressed the media that the ministry had counted 141 dead but that the number needed to be cross-checked with other departments.

Kinshasa a once collection of fishing villages on the banks of the Congo River, has today grown into one of Africa’s largest megacities with a population of about 15 million people.

Rapid development and poor regulation have made the city increasingly vulnerable to flash floods after intense rains, which have become more frequent due to climate change.

GAROWE ONLINE