Child dies in floods in DR Congo capital

A child has died in Kinshasa amid severe flooding caused by heavy rains in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, officials said on Sunday.

On Saturday, rivers, canals and sewers in Kinshasa overflowed, flooding roads in the industrial district of the central African country’s largest city.

Damage was overall “marginal compared to the devastation expected according to weather forecasts”, Kinshasa governor Daniel Bumba said in a video on social media.

But he said a two-year-old had died near the Kalamu River.

Bumba urged residents “not to throw rubbish” into waterways, which aggravated the risk of flooding.

Large piles of rubbish are a common sight in the city of 17 million people, as are rivers clogged with plastic waste.

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“It is true climate change exists but if we take precautions, we can avoid serious damage,” Bumba said.

Heavy rain and flooding in the Congolese capital regularly turns deadly, with some 40 people killed in a disaster in November 2019.

“Flooding occurs even in the most advanced cities but it’s how you deal with it that’s the decisive factor,” Bumba said.