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dam-l DR Congo flooding/LS
Tuesday, 30 November, 1999, 23:48 GMT
Thousands flee DR Congo flooding
Thousands of people are being evacuated from Kinshasa, the
capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, ahead of what could
become the "flood of the century".
Kikoy Kikum, the head of DR Congo's waterways authority
warned that the overflowing Congo River is feeding a flood which
"will last until January and will probably surpass" two
other major
floods this century in 1903 and 1961-62.
The flooding has forced the authorities to move up to 16,000
people to disused factories and government buildings.
Almost a fifth of Kinshasa's districts have already been hit
by the
rising waters, and tens of thousands of people are potentially at
risk.
Michel Nouredine Kassa, an adviser to the United Nations in
Kinshasa, says the River Congo is at its highest level since 1903
and the rainy season has only just begun.
Risk of disease
Water supplies to 50% of the population of Kinshasa have been
cut, and purification systems at some of the capital's pumping
stations are silting up.
Health officials fear outbreaks of cholera and other water-borne
diseases, and have asked city residents to "show solidarity with
the afflicted".
The government has appealed to the international donor
community for aid in anticipation of continued heavy rains.
In a television broadcast on Monday, Health Minister Mashako
Mamba said that any help from "partners" of DR Congo would be
welcome.
Exceptional rains
The exceptional water levels are due to the simultaneous flooding
of tributaries in the northern and southern Congo basin,
according
to Mr Kikum. These waterways do not normally swell at the same
time.
Torrential rains have also started earlier than usual.
The Stanley Pool, a great interior lake, is at capacity and
"can no
longer play its role as the Congo's natural spill basin", Mr
Kikum
added.
In the neighbouring capital Brazzaville, on the opposite
side of the
river, residents in the Yoro district have started
navigating the area
in canoes.
Floods earlier in November left two people dead and thousands
homeless, according to the Brazzaville authorities.
Towns and villages were flooded, bridges washed away and in
many northern areas crops perished when the Congo River's
tributaries burst.
The ability of the Brazzaville Government to deal with the
disasters is severely hampered by the war between government
and rebel forces which continues in the south and centre of the
country.
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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