Thousands of people have been displaced by about a week of heavy flooding in the north-western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), United Nations and government officials said on Monday.
A provincial medical officer said about 600 houses have been destroyed in the town of Bumba following a month of heavy rains, leaving about 3 600 people without shelter.
Many houses were washed away, while some in low-lying areas were completely inundated, Dr Charles Longoso, chief medical inspector for the province, said by telephone from Iyonda, a town near the provincial capital of Mbandaka. UN officials confirmed the flooding.
Bumba, a town of about 16 000, is on the Congo River about 520km north-east of Mbandaka in the DRC’s Equateur province.
”Some of the affected families are being housed by relatives in homes that held or in nearby villages, but most of them are still in Bumba where they’re living in canoes, exposed to the elements,” Longoso said.
Equateur Governor Yves Mobando Yogo said while seasonal flooding is common in the area, this year has been much heavier than normal. ”This year the houses are under water; other years it was only the rice fields that were flooded,” he said.
After decades of government neglect and fighting, the Central African country has little infrastructure and few systems for dealing with crises. After four years of a transitional government following back-to-back wars, DRC inaugurated its first freely elected leader in more than 40 years last week.
The UN and government officials said they were organising an emergency committee to deal with the crisis. World Health Organisation representative Jean-Robert Likofata said it was sending a representative to investigate the likelihood of disease breakouts.
Meanwhile, Longoso said the flooding appeared to be getting closer to the nearby town of Lisala as it progresses. Mobando said various UN organisations planned to arrive next week.
The small town of Bumba recently gained international attention during the DRC’s landmark presidential vote when rioters charging fraud burned ballots and ransacked polling stations, forcing a revote days later. — Sapa-AP