Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) - Floods (DG ECHO, UN, NGOs, ECHO, media) (ECHO Daily Flash of 26 November 2019)

Torrential rain around the Ubangi and the Congo Rivers, in the North of the country have caused major floods. According to local authorities, these are the most significant floods in the last 25 years and the situation is expected to deteriorate, as the rainy season extends into December.

In North Ubangui, 146,000 people, including several thousand Central African Republic refugees, are at risk, while in South Ubangui, the number is estimated to be 235,000. Despite difficult access to the area, the government, with the support of UN OCHA and NGOs, conducted a first assessment and identified food, shelter, clean water and sanitation as the immediate needs. The number of houses, water points, schools and health centres affected is unclear, but many have been destroyed or severely damaged.

Flooded areas are already very vulnerable. In North and South Ubangi, over 600,000 people are in food security crisis and emergency (IPC 3 and 4) according to the latest available information from June 2018.

Heavy rains and floods have also affected the provinces of Tshopo, Haut-Uélé and Kasai.