Torrential rains and flooding devastated Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), over the weekend, leaving homes destroyed and families grieving.
Heavy rains caused the Ndjili River to overflow, triggering floods that devastated the neighborhood of Debonhomme in Kinshasa and resulting in significant destruction.
Residents are now struggling to salvage their belongings after severe floods battered their homes, leaving behind a trail of destruction and despair.
Silvain Kanku is among hundreds of victims who are counting their losses.
"All my household items, money and clothes got destroyed. I only managed to get this suitcase and some shoes. I've lost my savings, food rations, a refrigerator and new chairs. I'm going to have to start life from scratch," he said.
Some parents are grieving deeply, like Bijoux Moyo, who is searching desperately for her missing child.
"I just don't know where all of this will end up. One of my children is still missing. I was told my neighbors got her, but I don't know where they took her," said Moyo.
Civil society leaders have criticized the government for granting permissions to build in unplanned areas, exacerbating the destruction caused by heavy rains.
"Whenever it rains heavily, there is a lot of destruction because of people's failure to respect the norms of urban planning. We Congolese like constructing houses wherever we please. But the government should bear the biggest blame for granting people permission to build in unplanned areas," said Crispin Kobolongo, a civil society leader.
At least 33 people have been confirmed dead following heavy rains that flooded Kinshasa, authorities said early Monday.
Meteorologists forecast continued heavy rainfall in the coming days, raising fears of further destruction in the city of 17 million people.
The DRC's rainy season typically runs from November through May.
Kinshasa floods cause widespread destruction, with residents struggling to recover
The Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, the last fully functional hospital in Gaza City, was forced to shut down as its key medical infrastructure had been damaged in an Israeli airstrike early on Sunday.
The hospital buildings sustained severe damage in the Israeli airstrike. While local medical and civil defense personnel are working to clear the debris and perform emergency repairs, it remains difficult for the hospital to resume operations in the short term.
This marks the third time the hospital has been targeted. In the early weeks of the Israeli war, the hospital was hit massively, leading to the death of almost 500 displaced Palestinians.
"Israel's direct attack on the hospital completely violated international law and ethical standards. This hospital is world-renowned, with doctors, refugees, journalists, and even foreign delegations stationed here, yet the Israeli army insisted on bombing this area," said Munir Al-Barsh, director general of the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
After the airstrike, 50 patients from the hospital were transferred to other facilities, but 40 others who are critically ill cannot be transferred. Muhammad Abu Nasser, who was injured in an explosion shortly after the outbreak of the latest round of the Palestine-Israel conflict in October 2023, had steel nails implanted in both of his legs.
He requires to undergo numerous surgeries, and he is still unable to walk now. Following the airstrike, he was temporarily placed near the hospital, awaiting transfer to another facility.
"I was in the surgical ward when the attack occurred. The blast left patients, doctors, and everyone in the hospital terrified. The hospital should have been a safe haven, but now almost no hospital in Gaza is fully operational. Where can we go now?" Nasser said.
The health authorities in Gaza reported on Tuesday that the Palestinian death toll since the start of the conflict on October 7, 2023 had reached 51,000, with 116,343 wounded. They said at least 17 people were killed and 69 others injured over the past 24 hours.
Gaza’s last fully functional hospital forced to cease operations after Israeli airstrike
