ReliefWeb

A. Situation analysis

Description of the disaster

Heavy rains began pouring in Kinshasa province during the night of 3 to 4 January 2018, and continued until 7 January. The water levels of the 5 Rivers2 that cross Kinshasa province rose abnormally and the waters flew out of the river beds, causing flooding, landslide and silting in nine (9) communes of Kinshasa, namely Galiema, Bandalungwa, Selembao, Masina, Limete, Kalamu, Bumbu, Kimbaseke and Ndjili.

The disaster caused the destruction of 465 houses, left 17 people injured, and claimed 51 human lives. In total, 15 743 people (2,624 households) were affected by the disaster in many ways. Most of them have lost their basic necessity property, including school supplies for students. Several latrines and septic tanks have been washed away, a cholera treatment centre was also flooded, and 2,310 households are affected by the disaster. One of the 9 communes affected by the floods is Galiema, which is said to be the epicentre of the cholera outbreak that is currently raging in Kinshasa. There are fears that the flooding will accelerate the spread of the cholera epidemic in the entire Kinshasa province. National forecasts indicate that more rains, under the influence of cyclones from Madagascar, are to be expected until March 2018. Should this happen, more damages are to be expected. The following table summarises the damages registered following the present flooding in Kinshasa province: