KINSHASA - At least 120 people have been killed and dozens injured in widespread floods and landslides caused by torrential rain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s capital, Kinshasa.
Entire neighbourhoods were flooded with muddy water, and houses and roads ripped apart by sinkholes and landslides, including the N1 highway that connects Kinshasa to the country’s main sea port of Matadi.
Once a collection of fishing villages on the banks of the Congo River, Kinshasa has grown into one of Africa’s largest megacities with a population of about 15 million people.
Rapid development and poor regulation have made the city increasingly vulnerable to flash floods after intense rains, which have become more frequent due to climate change.
