Congo Republic Floods Leave Thousands Homeless
Date: 28-Dec-05
Country: REPUBLIC OF CONGO
A young boy was reported killed during heavy rain at the weekend which caused extensive damage to homes in poor, heavily populated districts north of the city.
"My children and I were forced to flee and leave everything in the house," 42-year-old market trader Philomene Itoua, who spent Christmas at the home of a friend along with her three small daughters, told Reuters.
In Maman Mbouale district houses built illegally on hillsides were swept away by a mudslide which trapped some residents in their houses for hours until they could be rescued by neighbours, residents said.
Flood waters rose as high as 4 metres (yards) in another part of town, Mpila, where some residents said they only escaped with their lives by climbing onto the roofs of houses.
Residents said the district was subject to regular flooding which was exacerbated by a lack of storm drains.
"We have never stopped asking the council to build drainage channels, but nobody takes care of us," said Blaise Massengo, an unemployed welder who said he had lost everything in the flood.
