2019–2020 Congo River floods

The 2019–2020 Congo River floods resulted from torrential rains from October 2019 to January 2020 that caused the overflow of the Congo river and Ubangi river, floods and landslides throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Republic of Congo (RoC) and led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.[1]

Heavy rains affected 16 of the 26 provinces of the DRC and eight out of 12 departments of the RoC. The most affected provinces in DRC were Nord-Ubangi, Sud-Ubangi, Mongala, Equateur, and Tshopo, and the most affected in RoC were Likouala, Cuvette, Plateaux and Brazzaville.[2] Many villages and homes were damaged or completely destroyed and the flooding led to severe damage of infrastructure and blocked access to water, food, schools and health services.[1] The flood was a 1-in-50-year occurrence. By December 2019, the Congo River carried 70 000 cubic meters of water per second past Kinshasa, DRC and delivered vast quantities of sand and mud.[3] More than 400 000 people were displaced out of at least 923,000 affected in the DRC and several hundred houses were flooded in the Kinshasa.[2][4] Those affected suffered severe deprivation due to the flood, such as losing their homes and property, livelihoods, crops and agricultural land. The displaced population were relocated into other homes, makeshift shelters and public places such as schools.[2]

Both the DRC and RoC have historically experienced recurrent flooding along the Congo River and its main tributaries during the rainy season, causing erosion and landslides, and negatively impacting human settlements, agriculture, and public health.[5][6] The Congo River, situated within the Congo Basin is expected to be increasingly impacted by climate change over the coming years.[7] Temperatures are expected to rise and rainfall quantity and its distribution across the seasons are expected to increase in frequency and intensity with discharge volume from rivers increasing during the rainy season.[6][7] As a result, potentially damaging and life-threatening natural disasters driven by river and urban floods are likely to occur across provinces of the RoC and DRC during the next 10 years.[8]

The Congo River is a lifeline but also a huge threat.[9]

The heavy rains between October 2019 to January 2020 constituted the worst and most complex natural disaster experienced in the region for the last 20–25 years.[10] The event has been attributed to climate change; however, it was exacerbated by poor drainage and infrastructure in those areas worst impacted.[11] More than 100 villages were submerged with homes destroyed along the departments of Likouala, Cuvette and Plateaux within the RoC, impacting around 170,000 of the most vulnerable of the population of which around 30,000 were refugees.[12] Government figures in the DRC estimated that over 923,000 people were affected by the flooding events, many displaced having lost their homes and livelihoods and subject to an increased risk of transmission of waterborne diseases due to inadequate hygiene measures.[2] In the DRC capital city of Kinshasa, more than 41 people were killed by flash floods and landslides between 25 and 26 November 2019, which destroyed roads, bridges, and hundreds of homes, displacing around 400,00 people.[13] Further damage occurred in the capital of the RoC during the week of 7 January 2020 with heavy rain causing major damage to infrastructure across the city.[2] Around 6,302 hectares of agricultural fields were destroyed over the period, which caused substantial loss of crop and livestock.[14] Food production from cassava fields, in addition to losses across breeding and fishing industries, depleted food reserves and raised food security concerns given most agricultural produce is rain-fed and carried out by small-holder farmers.[6]

In addition to experiencing outward and inward migration, floods have a wide range of indirect health consequences, including psychological stress, destruction of health infrastructure, and contamination.[24]