By RFPosted on 22-11-2019Modified on 22-11-2019 at 01:58

At least 50,000 people have been displaced in recent months in Congo-Brazzaville following torrential rains that caused floods that washed away homes, destroyed plantations and even school buildings.

The government has decreed " the state of natural disaster and humanitarian emergency ", seeking the intervention of humanitarians. Two departments affected by these floods are located along the Congo River. These are the Plateaux in the center and the Cuvette in the north. Driven by the Oubangui that has emerged from its bed, the Likouala located in the far north, is also hard hit by these floods.

" We see along the Oubangui, dozens of villages that are flooded: the water has reached the roof, describes Jean-Martin Bauer, representative of the World Food Program (WFP) who has just completed a field mission . The habitat is very damaged; some houses collapsed. Schools and health centers are flooded with water. The populations themselves had to move on mounds or on higher places like the cities of Betou and Impfondo. We see people who have been living for weeks in precarious conditions at the mercy of mosquitoes and in a great food insecurity .

WFP and many other humanitarian agencies are trying to rescue people in distress. " We have already distributed more than 100 tons of food to nearly 8,000 people in Likouala, " he said. Mr. Bauer.

These floods have caused loss of life, but the government authorities have not put forward any figures. According to the local press, at least three people have been killed in recent days by rainwater in the capital.

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