A displaced Congolese man sits outside his tent at a temporary camp in North Kivu February
3, 2025, days after the M23 rebel group seized the city Goma, forcing thousands to flee and
triggering a wave of looting and deaths. Photo: OSV News/Arlette Bashizi, Reuters. 
ACI Africa
Caritas in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has launched an appeal for humanitarian assistance for the victims of the April 5-6 flooding that left a trail of destruction in the country’s capital city, Kinshasa.
At least 33 people were reported dead and thousands displaced following the April 5-6 flooding that cut access to over half of the Congolese capital city, home to some 17.8 million people. The floods reportedly occurred when the N’Djili River, which runs through Kinshasa burst its banks and submerged major roads.
Caritas Congo Asbl has given a heartbreaking account of the situation of the flooding victims after conducting a visit to the most affected areas on Monday, April 7.
Areas that the development arm of the Church in the central African country visited, together with he Diocesan Diakonia Service of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa, included the municipalities of Limete, N’Djili and Masina in Kinshasa.
The aim of the field visit, officials of the development and humanitarian arm of DRC’s Catholic Bishops, the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO), say in a Wednesday, April 9 report, was “to take stock of the situation, assess the extent of the damage and identify the priority needs of those affected by the flooding caused by the rain.”
“Caritas Congo ASBL and the Diocesan Diakonia Service of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa continue to closely monitor this situation and are appealing to donors and people of goodwill for emergency humanitarian assistance,” Caritas Congo Asbl says in the report, in part.
The Catholic entity’s visit began in the Ndanu neighbourhood in the Limete commune, where overflowing waters caused serious damage.
The visit continued in the N’Djili/CECOMAF commune in neighbourhood 9 and ended in the Masina commune, according to the April 9 report.
Representatives of Caritas Congo Absl spoke to victims of the flooding, who complained that they did not know where to spend the night. Others said that they had decided to relocate to avoid the next floods.
The victims, officials of Caritas Congo Absl has reported, asked authorities and people of goodwill to help them.
In the Ndanu district, the joint Caritas Congo Absl team says it “came across a lifeless body still lying around”, waiting to be collected for the morgue.
According to the team, survivors of the floods are now facing difficult living conditions. “Their needs are numerous,” the agency says, and adds, “The needs of the victims are generally expressed in terms of shelter, food, drinking water, medical care, including essential household items, hygiene and sanitation, as well as seeds and farming tools.”
Mr. Tshimanga, an agent for Caritas Congo ASBL, one of the victims of the floods, recounts in the Caritas Congo Absl report, that his family was forced to spend the night on the roof of their house to save themselves from the floods.
He says that the floods found him and his wife in hospital. “That’s where we received the call warning us of the rising waters in our Ndanu neighbourhood, in the commune of Limete.”
He continues, “When we arrived home, the water had already penetrated the living room. By the time we tried to shelter our belongings, the water was up to our knees. At that moment, we resorted to a method popular in the neighbourhood: using a staircase to shelter on the roof. That’s how, thanks to God, we were able to escape drowning.”
“We spent two entire nights on the roof to save our lives. But, all our belongings remained trapped in the house. Our belongings are unusable,” Mr. Tshimanga said.
Mrs. Alice Ngalula, a resident of the Masina commune in the Abattoir district, mother of three children, including a baby, also recounts, “It was 7 p.m. I was alone with the children, without electricity, when I realised that we were flooded by rainwater.”
“Everything happened so quickly that I was unable to salvage anything. In my head, I was just thinking about how to get out of this place with my children. Thank God, we are still alive, but the entire neighbourhood has suffered enormous losses in human lives and livelihoods,” Mrs. Ngalula told Caritas Congo Absl.
She said that her house and her entire plot of land were destroyed by the floods, and that she was currently living in a compound near her neighbourhood, together with other families.
“So far, we have received no help. May people of goodwill come to our aid; we are exposed to several diseases, especially for children,” she appealed.
Meanwhile, Catholic Bishops in DRC have expressed their “spiritual closeness and solidarity” with victims of the floods.
“To our brothers and sisters in the areas affected by the floods and landslides, be assured of our compassion and our prayers,” CENCO members said in a statement shared with ACI Africa on Wednesday, April 9.
They added, “Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Congo, may the Risen Lord heal the wounds of the injured and restore courage and hope to all who have lost their belongings. May He console the bereaved families and grant eternal rest to the victims.”