No less than 50
persons have been feared dead with 10,000 others homeless in Western Congo
after flooding caused by heavy rains on Thursday.
The rain – which
flowed powerfully – caused the Kalamu river, which runs through the city of
Boma, to burst its banks on Tuesday.
It was gathered that
the bodies of some of the victims had ended up in neighbouring Angola, after
being carried away by the surge, while some areas of the city were buried in up
to a metre of mud.
More than 1,000
houses were flooded in the city of Boma near the Angolan border, according to
local authorities.
Some 10,000 people
have been left homeless, the city’s mayor Marie-Jose Nsuami said.
“This is a cyclical
phenomenon which happens every 10 years. It last happened in January 2015, but
with climate change it’s now happened again in December 2016,” Jacques Mbadu,
governor of Kongo Central province, told AFP news agency.
Waters hit a peak of
2m (six ft) above their usual level, he added.
Severe floods,
droughts and storms are expected to increase as a result of climate change in
Africa.
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