Heavy rains leave at least 36 dead in DRC
Fatalities occur as torrential rains trigger landslides in Lemba district of capital Kinshasa, officials giving provisional death toll say.
A road surface swept away by a landslide caused by torrential overnight rains is photographed in the Lemba district of Kinshasa, on November 26, 2019.
At least 36 people were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo [or DRC] capital Kinshasa after torrential overnight rains, with some swept away by landslides, a top city official said on Tuesday, giving a provisional toll.
"The [provincial] interior minister has just advised of a toll of 36 dead. The search [for survivors] is continuing. The loss, in terms of property and lives, is really huge," Kinshasa's vice governor, Neron Mbungu, told AFP news agency.
At least two bridges collapsed as well as a part of a major road in the capital, Mbungu said, adding that the dead in Lemba district included a child who was electrocuted.
Frequent floods
Fatal floods and rains are frequent in Kinshasa.
In January last year, dozens were killed in landslides and floods and after houses collapsed following just one night of heavy rain.
Africa's third-largest city, Kinshasa counts around 10 million inhabitants, many of whom live in precarious dwellings.
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.