Flooding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2023–2024

Since the end of November 2023, above-average rainfall and flash floods have affected the Democratic Republic of the Congo causing an impact on agriculture and livelihoods. The Data in Emergencies (DIEM) team at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) examined satellite images from the beginning of this period and conducted a rapid impact assessment to understand the impact of the floods and support the country with a subsequent field assessment. This StoryMap provides the potential impact of the flooding on agricultural production and livelihoods in the DRC. Key highlights: According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 350 000 people affected by floods are in need of humanitarian assistance across almost all of the provinces. The flood has extended over 1.6 million ha but only 4 000 ha of cropland are potentially impacted. Therefore, the impact of the flooding on crop production should be relatively moderate. However, floods will have impacted households dependent on certain crops for their livelihood in specific locations. Those affected will be mostly peri-urban vegetable growers near Kinshasa and farmers in South Kivu. For these populations, floods will impact sowing, growing and harvesting of critical staple crops like maize and cassava. These farmers should be assisted to replant quickly after the floods recess. While the impact on production is likely to be limited, the difficulties for a larger number of farmers to sell their products due to damages to storage infrastructure and roads, in a country structurally affected with high post-harvest losses and heavy market access constraints, should be taken into consideration when coordinating the response. The risk of dead animals due to the flood is high in Kasai, Kwilu, Mai-Nbombe and Mongala. It could erode the economic capacities of households reliant on livestock and leave them facing severe animal health issues in the coming weeks.