When water submerged their village, Mandoko recounts, "We had no choice but to flee. We took refuge in a church on the hill, but we lost all our food stock. Fortunately, we received help from our relatives and community members." Four months later, when the water receded, Mandoko and her family returned home. But what they saw was heartbreaking: mud-covered wooden debris was all that remained of their home. "We鈥檝e lost everything," she lamented. "Now that the floodwaters have receded, we have gradually resumed our agricultural activities to survive.鈥
Africa鈥檚 second-longest river, the Congo River, is a major threat for people in Tshopo Province, which is situated in the heart of the Congo Basin forest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). For the past 10 years, the river鈥檚 recurrent flooding has destroyed people鈥檚 lives and livelihoods. Mandoko Atanga, 39, is just one of those people. Recurring floods have displaced more than 108,000 people in Tshopo and destroyed more than 5,000 hectares of farmland and their harvests, disrupting agricultures and putting people at risk of acute food insecurity. Their story represents how cyclic flooding has affected thousands of households in the region.
Tshopo Province is grappling with multiple crises. Recurrent flooding is destroying crops, making food scarce; land disputes are fuelling intercommunal violence, dividing society. Despite these challenges, local communities are in a constantly changing environment.