Forest Fire (15320 ha) in The Democratic Republic of Congo 09 Aug 2023

Event summary

This forest fire is expected to have a low humanitarian impact based on the magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability.

GDACS ID WF 1016291
Countries: The Democratic Republic of Congo
Start Date - Last detection*: 09 Aug 2023 - 12 Aug 2023
Duration (days): 3
People affected: 7243 in the burned area
Burned area: 15320 ha
More Info: Global Wildfire Information System

*(Last detection of the thermal anomaly of the fire)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS alert score click here.

Detailed event map. European Union, 2023. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.


Impact Timeline

IDAlert colorGDACS ScorePopulation AffectedBurned Area (ha)Last UpdateSource
1 0.5 4269 8694 11 Aug 2023 10:59 GWIS
2 0.5 4286 10861 12 Aug 2023 08:00 GWIS
3 0.5 7243 15320 13 Aug 2023 08:00 GWIS

Fires Joined

This event includes other close identified fires:

Exposed population

The forest fire happened in The Democratic Republic of Congo , Region of Kasai-Occidental (population 3,162,753) . The nearest places are Mweka, Mutombo-Lamata, and Demba.

Radius Population
10 km 180000 people
5 km 88000 people
2 km 59000 people
1 km 41000 people
Burned Area 7200 people

Land Cover area Source
Settlement 2888 m2 GHSL

Affected Provinces

Region Province Country Population
Kasai-Occidental The Democratic Republic of Congo 3.2 million people

Affected populated places

Name Region Province Country City class Population Distance
Mweka Kasai-Occidental Democratic Republic of the Congo City 50000 people 37 km
Mutombo-Lamata Kasai-Occidental Democratic Republic of the Congo City - 61 km
Demba Kasai-Occidental Democratic Republic of the Congo City 22000 people 97 km

see full list

Critical infrastructure

Airports, ports, nuclear plants and hydrodams at risk, if affected, are listed below.

Airports

Name IATA Code Elevation (m) Usage Runway type IFR Runway Length (ft) Distance
Luebo 500 Civ. Unpaved No 3600 25 km
Mweka MEW unknown 0 36 km
Musese 570 Civ. Unpaved No 3200 37 km

Ports

Dams

Nuclear plants

More information

For a full list of available products related to this event, please refer to the GDACS Resources page.