KINSHASA, Feb 16: In a makeshift camp for people displaced by floods in Democratic Republic of Congo, father-of-three Cyprien Seka anxiously watched his baby nap on the floor of a crowded tent and wondered if it would ever be safe to return home.
Torrential rains swelled the Congo river to its highest level in over 60 years in late December and forced around 500,000 people to flee the rising waters.
"Its been almost a month since we left our homes because of the flooding... We are suffering," Seka said at the camp on the grounds of a Catholic church on the outskirts of capital Kinshasa.
Like many others, Sekas family lost almost all their possessions in the rush to escape. With some areas still under water, around 2,400 people have been crammed onto this compound for weeks. Many have to sleep outside on the ground due to a lack of space in the shared tents.
"The night here is horrible," said 55-year-old grandmother Pansel Moto Pamba. "There are many people spread out, crowded ... its suffocating, you cannot breathe," she said, showing the scrap of matting she lies on to sleep. —REUTERS
