Flood-related deaths are not uncommon in West Africa during the rainy season, but according to the Ivorian meteorological agency, the recent rainfall was particularly violent with more than 200 millimetres in some districts.
Informal settlements are particularly vulnerable because of poor storm drainage among homes often built quickly without zoning regulations.
The flooding and landslides have also caused “significant” damage across the city, flooding houses and roads, said the Ivory Coast National Office for Civil Protection. At least 271 people who were trapped after the rains have been successfully rescued, it said
Officials last year demolished houses built along a lagoon in Abidjan as a measure to prevent deadly floods.Flooding and landslides in Ivory Coast’s largest city of Abidjan have left at least 24 people dead following a week of heavy rains, four times the usual volume in some cases, authorities said on Tuesday.
Flood-related deaths are not uncommon in West Africa during the rainy season, but according to the Ivorian meteorological agency, the recent rainfall was particularly violent with more than 200 millimetres in some districts.
Informal settlements are particularly vulnerable because of poor storm drainage among homes often built quickly without zoning regulations.
The flooding and landslides have also caused “significant” damage across the city, flooding houses and roads, said the Ivory Coast National Office for Civil Protection. At least 271 people who were trapped after the rains have been successfully rescued, it said
Officials last year demolished houses built along a lagoon in Abidjan as a measure to prevent deadly floods.
Two more people were missing after being “swept away by the waters”, the ONPC statement added.
It updated a toll given by the fire service on June 15, which said that eight people had died after the exceptionally heavy downpours.
About a quarter of the precipitation expected over the entire three-month rainy season from May to July fell in 24 hours, the national meteorological service Sodexam said.
In the commune of Yopougon, Sodexam recorded 214 millimetres (8.4 inches) of rain in a day. The normal level is 50 millimetres (two inches).
Torrential rains followed by devastating floods are a regular occurrence in Abidjan, home to nearly six million people.
Many poorer residents live in shacks located in flood-prone areas, despite the government launching a mass clean-up policy which has destroyed many shanty towns.
In 2023, at least 30 people died in flooding and other incidents linked to heavy rains in the West African nation.
