By RFIPosted 28-11-2019Modified on 28-11-2019 at 04:03

At least 41 people died the night of Monday to Tuesday, mainly in the communes of Lemba and Mont Ngafula, on the authors of the capital. The authorities intend to demolish uncontrolled construction in the flooded areas, but the victims will not leave without insurance.

The look lost under a shack on the edge of a swampy land, Caroline fears for his life in the aftermath of floods that took away his house. Rescapée, she stays there, on the spot without knowing where to go: " There is more space of life here but I wait anyway because I have nowhere to go to live, one has lost everything. We've escaped death here, it's a chance that does not show up twice. I will not stay here but we must find other places. "

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Above his makeshift dwelling, houses are erected on slippery slopes. Of the 300 square meters of the concession Clementine, there remains only half after the landslide. The walls of the house are cracked. This sexagenarian and her son are worried. " I'm very scared, we do not sleep. "

But to leave the premises, the occupants ask prerequisites: " To go where exactly? The state has to help us by building other sites somewhere. Otherwise, we will all die. "

For the city hall these sites must be " shaved ". The local authorities are relying on the central government, which they say has several free spaces in the capital.

A problem of urbanism that does not date from yesterday

Specialists, like architects, question the non-compliance with the rules of urban planning.

Architect for many years, Jean-Claude Mutapile has already made this observation: not a single rainy season without disaster especially for the city of Kinshasa. " The management of runoff water. Because when water does not find its way, it is created. When you live on a hillside and these waters are not managed, the damage is unimaginable. That's what happens in Kinshasa. "

It is nevertheless possible to manage the situation and prevent disasters, says Jean-Claude Mutapile. " We had a long dry season of about six months, so we had time to clean our gutters, see the outlets that are clogged, if there is a way to unclog them. The major works are done at this time. "

The man insists on the prevention: " When you manage a city of more than ten million inhabitants, I think that there is way of organizing the services, to see if we can not fear catastrophes compared to the 'use. You know how Kinois lives every day! Where is his depot? In the gutter ! "

Like Jean-Claude Mutapile, many other Kinois are powerless to note that several books have been erected on gutters.

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