Republic of Congo: Floods - Nov 2021

In the northern part of the Republic of Congo, heavy rainfall has been observed since September 2021, when the rainy season had just begun. According to the Government's satellite data, the rains of 29 November 2021 caused a significant rise of the water level of the river by 2.4m above the riverbed and led to the total or partial flooding of several villages, neighbourhoods and districts. The departments most affected were Likouala (Bétou, Epéna and Dongou districts), Sangha, Cuvette and Plateaux. In addition to these affected localities in the countryside, several neighbourhoods in the cities of Pointe-Noire and Brazzaville were affected, where several thousand people were forced to leave their homes and lost their livelihoods. In response to this disaster, the Congolese government declared a state of emergency by letter No. 210844/PM/CAB of 29 November 2021. (IFRC, 11 Dec 2021)

Heavy rain has been affecting most of the Republic of the Congo (also named Congo-Brazzaville) since September, causing rivers overflow and triggering floods that have resulted in casualties and widespread damage. The worst affected Departments include Likouala, Sangha, Cuvette, and Plateaux in the central-north as well as Kouilou and the capital Brazzaville in the south. Media report, as of 16 December, 15 fatalities, nine people still missing, more than 6,550 displaced people and a total of over 46,650 affected people across the aforementioned Departments. In addition, thousands of houses were reported damaged. (ECHO, 16 Dec 2021)