12 November 2025 – Kinshasa was once again submerged under torrential rains on the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, 12 November. A night of anxiety and desolation, marked by the deaths of at least two people and the destruction of several vital infrastructures. On Assossa Avenue in Bumbu, as well as in Matondo, Selembao, cries of helplessness echoed through the floodwaters as families struggled to save what remained of their belongings.
Entire neighborhoods – Masina, Ndjili, Limete, Kalamu, Selembao, and Kintambo – have turned into swamps, victims of the uncontrolled flooding of the Ndjili, Nsanga, and Makelele rivers. Two bridges collapsed between Kauka and Matonge, isolating residents and paralyzing part of the capital’s traffic. In Lingwala, the Lufungula market became a muddy waterfield, and the Kalembelembe market was not spared either.
“Kinshasa is not struck by a curse, but by planned negligence,” confides a Kalamu resident, met at dawn with feet in water. Every rainy season feels like a replay of an already-seen tragedy. The same flood scenes, the same losses, the same appeals to authorities… followed by the same silence. The drainage network, either outdated or nonexistent, can no longer cope with rainfall intensified by climate change. But the crisis goes beyond the weather: it primarily reflects a deficit in urban governance, maintenance, and anticipation.
In several low-lying communes, families have lost everything. Floodwaters have swept away furniture, documents, and sometimes even cherished memories. Erosion is progressing dangerously, particularly on the hills of Selembao, threatening already fragile homes. Roads, torn apart, have become impassable. What is unfolding in Kinshasa is no longer just an infrastructure problem, but an issue of environmental justice. The poorest pay the highest price for chaotic urbanization. Most victims live in flood-prone areas, where the State provides neither drainage plans nor post-disaster support.
Every year, expert reports warn of the need for a city-wide climate adaptation policy – with no concrete follow-up. Rivers continue to overflow, anarchic constructions multiply, and the memory of past disasters fades at the first clearing of skies. During last season’s torrential rains, the Ndjili River had already caused deaths and displaced hundreds of families. Authorities had promised a relocation plan for residents of swampy neighborhoods. Today, these same families live in fear, without a sustainable solution. Kinshasa sinks deeper into water chaos each rainy season, under the watch of an impotent governance. And as the waters rise, it is citizens’ trust in their institutions that gradually erodes, slowly but surely.
By Kilalopress
