Officials say rain and floods killed at least 33 people in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Desperate residents try to escape the flood by wading, swimming or rowing in homemade canoes.
The city has a home of 17 million people, sitting on the Congo River, one of the largest rivers in the world that extends across the country.
Flooding is common – the river has reached its highest level in sixty years.
The capital is prone to soil erosion, and in recent years, the Congolese president has warned that the climate crisis is flooding.
Many homes in West Kinshasa were swept from Friday to Saturday after flooding.
The mayor of the capital said about half of the city’s 26 districts were affected, and he said the search and rescue team had been dispatched.
The most affected are the suburbs of the city and some of the poorest neighborhoods.
“We just managed to save our own water,” Christophe Bola, who lives in the Ndanu area, told AFP.
Other local residents told reporters they were angry with the authorities and accused them of being too slow to react and not providing enough help.
n’djili is one of the worst affected communities [AFP]
The flooding also struggling in most parts of Kinshasa after the city’s water treatment pumps themselves were flooded.
The city’s busiest roads connect the center with international airports, which is impassable, and the highway connecting capital to Matadi, the country’s main port.
Vice President Jacquemain Shabani said in a statement Sunday that at least one led the Congo River (N’Djili River) to blast banks, trapping many residents there.
It is said to be one of the most polluted rivers that Congolese scientists say, which contains high levels of manure and other waste.
In many areas of Kinshasa, sewage maintenance is poor and there is little evidence of town planning.
Last year, the government announced plans to resolve this long-standing problem.
Heavy rain is expected to affect the Congo Doctor in the next few days.
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