Children Among Five Killed In Ivory Coast Flooding

At least five people, including four children, have died after torrential rain overnight led to flooding in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan, the emergency services said Tuesday

Abidjan, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Jun, 2022 ) :At least five people, including four children, have died after torrential rain overnight led to flooding in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan, the emergency services said Tuesday.

"Flooding situation at 12:40 (GMT and local): 5 deaths. Operations are ongoing", the fire brigade said in a statement posted on social media.

It added that 77 people had to be rescued and one taken to hospital, while a building threatening to collapse was evacuated.

Heavy rain fell through the night, flooding many neighbourhoods of Abidjan and leaving several key roads unusable.

The rain continued to fall on Tuesday morning.

Over the past 24 hours, some neighbourhoods in Abidjan have received around 200 millimetres (eight inches) of rainfall, the equivalent of several weeks of rain, according to data from the Ivorian meteorological agency.

Last week, six people died after torrential rain triggered a landslip in the city's western neighbourhood of Mossikro.

Landslips during the rainy season are a notorious risk in the fast-growing city of five million people, with flood-prone areas often inhabited by low-income citizens.

Previous accidents claimed 18 lives in June 2018 and 13 in June 2020.