Democratic Republic of Congo: Floods – DREF Operational Update, n°MDRCD042 – Democratic Republic of the Congo

What happened, where and when?

The Democratic Republic of Congo experienced extreme floods with its worst overflow of the Congo River in 60 years. The severe floods follows weeks of heavy rainfall since late November leading to riverine and pluvial floods in several provinces along the river and beyond. On December 29, 2023, the Government of the Republic of Congo had already issued an alert for the level of the Congo River, with a flood of 5.94m. As of January 10, the authorities reported that the river was still above the overflow threshold, i.e. 6.20 meters above sea level, close to the 1.,961 record of 6.26 meters. This statement from Reuters Ferry Mowa (hydrology specialist with the DRC’s waterways authority), maintains the emergency level in several provinces already severely affected by violent flooding over the past few weeks, with some 300 deaths in the two Congo states.

Following the deadly toll and impact of the floods on January 5, the DRC’s Minister of Social Affairs, Humanitarian Action and National Solidarity launched an appeal for solidarity and emergency relief, addressed to the central government and the entire national and international community, to enable the deployment of appropriate aid and teams on the ground.

According to Régie des voies fluviales monitoring data, the provinces most affected are: Tshopo, Mongala, Equateur, Nord Ubangui and Sud Ubangi, Kwilu, Mai-Ndombe, Kongo-Central, Lomami, Kasaï, Kasaï-Central, Sud-Kivu, haut Uele, kinshasa and Tshuapa.

Flooding across the Republic affected 304,521 households, 43,750 houses collapsed, 1,325 schools destroyed, 269 health centers affected, 41 public markets affected, and 85 agricultural feeder roads destroyed.