Kinshasa, DRC (News of The South) 41 people died yesterday in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)’s capital Kinshasa, as a result of torrential overnight rains, which caused landslides near the University of Kinshasa.
A bridge connecting the districts of Lemba and Ngaba collapsed, and another was destroyed in the district of Kisenso.
Neron Mbungu vice-governor of Kinshasa said the loss, in terms of property and lives, was really huge. He said three of the city’s 26 districts were badly hit, adding that rescue workers were continuing to hunt for more bodies.
“Eighty percent of the losses are caused by unauthorized constructions, people are stubborn and do not respect the building regulations.
Even if the state says they shouldn’t build there, they build and these are the consequences,” said Mbungu.
The city’s sub-standard building practices and large slum areas give little protection, when it comes to natural disasters such as floods which relatively lead to high death tolls.
“More than 300 homes have been flooded. There are many houses which have been destroyed,” said Jean Nsaka who is the mayor of Lemba.
In January last year, over 50 people died, 1 000 homes were destroyed and 10 000 made homeless after flash floods hit the city of Boma.
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