DRC Alert 419
The Start Fund continues to be alerted to climate-related disasters and flooding is a particularly common hazard, with 12 flood-related alerts raised in 2020 so far. One of these alerts was raised by humanitarian agencies in the Democratic Republic…
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The Start Fund continues to be alerted to climate-related disasters and flooding is a particularly common hazard, with 12 flood-related alerts raised in 2020 so far. One of these alerts was raised by humanitarian agencies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo when the Mulongwe River flooded after heavy rainfall.
Located in the east of the DRC, 128 km south of the city of Bukavu in South Kivu province, lies the city of Uvira. It sits between the high mountains of the Mitumba range (commonly called the "Uvira highlands") and Lake Tanganyika, which separates the DRC and the Republic of Burundi, from which you can travel by ferry to Tanzania and Zambia. Similarly, Uvira has always been considered a crossroads because from here, the RN5 connects South Kivu to other provinces such as Maniema and the former province of Katanga in the south toward Zambia. From Zambia, you can reach other countries in southern Africa, notably Zimbabwe and South Africa.
On 16-17 April, Uvira was showered with heavy rains and strong winds. This came as a surprise to its inhabitants overnight, and has since been a source of both human and material disaster.
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