The first heavy rain of the start of the rainy season fell on Kinshasa, a megacity of around 17 million inhabitants, according to testimonies and images posted on social networks. In at least two videos, we see yellow public transport buses nicknamed “spirits of death” being swept away by water in the middle of the street.
In the center of the capital, small rivers, canals and sewers overflowed, flooding the arteries, particularly in the industrial district of Limete. At “Première Rue”, residents who dared to go out on foot found themselves with water up to their chests, according to witnesses.
“This is not the first time that we have witnessed floods here, we are victims every time it rains, due to the lack of cleaning of the Kalamu River,” said a man in his forties, who refused. to give his name, while he was emptying the water from his flooded plot.
To cross the muddy waters, residents of the Forgeron and Funa neighborhoods used the services of a few young people to be transported on their backs or in a wheelbarrow, for a small fee. While the sky was still overcast, residents interviewed in the flooded neighborhoods said fearing “the aftermath of the rains” due to the lack of cleaning of the capital’s gutters and rivers.
In Kinshasa, rains and floods regularly claim victims. In November 2019, around forty people died in the capital, victims of torrential rains which caused floods and landslides. On Saturday, no loss of life was reported at midday.
