4 dead, several injured in Ivory Coast floods

By Aurore Bonny

DOUALA, Cameroon (AA) - At least four people were killed in heavy rains that fell late Thursday in the capital of the Ivory Coast, the military fire brigade (GSPM) said Friday.

Several injuries and significant property damage from landslides were reported during torrential rains in Abidjan, according to GSPM in media reports.

The collapse of a house with residents inside killed two people in the Attecoube community, while waters swept away two students in the commune of Yopougon.

The loss of lives and property are reported annually from torrential rains in several regions -- the most cited being Abidjan and its suburbs, said the National Committee for Remote Sensing and Geographic Information (CNTIG).

In June 2018, the official death toll from rains indicated 18 fatalities and more than 100 families affected in the country. And in June 2020, a major landslide caused by rains killed more than 10 people in the Anyama commune north of Abidjan.

But CNTIG also blames residents that "ignore the risk zones by settling there in an anarchic manner at the peril of their lives.“

As a result, the government has initiated the destruction of construction on drainage basins.

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank granted a €48.4 million loan to the Ivory Coast on Sept. 16 "to fight against floods and improve the living conditions of the populations of the Autonomous District of Abidjan.”

The CNTIG recommended a diagnostic study of “cities and geographic information system applications are needed to assist in decision-making."

If tools are "effectively used, they will undoubtedly contribute to improving flood prevention and management,” it added.