Five people died in floods caused by torrential rains that hit Abidjan on Thursday and Friday, national television (RTI) said. Friday, “two bodies were discovered in the commune of Cocody after the heavy rains which raised the water level up to three meters, six times the alert threshold”, explained the RTI.
On Thursday, torrential rains in the Ivorian economic capital transformed the streets into torrents and flooded homes, killing three. These deaths are added to the 16 others which occurred during a landslide last Thursday in a poor district, already following torrential rains.
18 dead in 2018
The rainy season started in May and usually lasts until the end of July in Abidjan, which has a tropical climate. The scenario of torrential rains followed by devastating floods is recurrent in this metropolis of five million inhabitants in continuous growth, and whose infrastructures are insufficient.
After deadly floods that hit the same neighborhoods in 2018 and left 18 people dead, the authorities had started major work to clean up the evacuation canals and destroy the illegal constructions that sometimes blocked them. (afp/nxp)
Created: 06.27.2020, 00:03
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