Congo authorities battling with huge floods

The northern part of the Republic of Congo has been facing huge floods for several months now. The cause? A series of torrential rains that fall continuously in the Likuala basin and the plateau department.

The Congolese government, having declared a state of humanitarian emergency has now dispatched with the help of foreign partners a convoy of food and essential products to help more than 180,000 disaster victims, trapped in areas that are difficult to access.

Antoinette Dinga-Dzondo is the Minister of Social Affairs and Humanitarian Action.

"In order to reach these places, we have to use both routes. Because it's all along the Congo River, there are eight convoys on the river and five teams on the land, Dinga-Dzondo said.

But due to the inaccessibility of certain flooded areas, it would take some days before humanitarian aid can reach and meet the needs of each disaster victim.

Despite this, Africanews correspondent Cedric Sehossolo reports that the authorities are looking for funding to put in place a plan for a lasting solution.

For Antoinette Dinga-Dzondo, sustainable solutions means first of all providing the populace with decent, sustainable housing. "What we have found is that houses are generally made of precarious materials" she explained.

Pointe noire and Brazza, a little further south, are not immune to the sitiuation. Their flooding is in fact compounded by the ageing of the draining systems.