Rains kill 16 in Abidjan
Heavy rains in Ivory Coast have killed at least 16 people so
far in June in the economic capital Abidjan, including six this weekend, civil
protection said Sunday.
According to AFP, the latest victims died in Attecoube and
Adjame, two poor neighbourhoods in the city, because of a landslide and a
collapsing wall, civil protection chief General Fiacre Kili said.
At least 10 other people had died earlier in the month due
to the floods.
On Friday, a fire brigade supervisor reported 15 deaths
between June 7 and 18.
"The dead bodies were found in different districts of
Abidjan, in gutters, floating in the lagoon or in water puddles," the
fireman said.
State-run daily Fraternite Matin reported 10 dead in its
Friday edition.
Most of the victims lived in shantytowns, where
shoddily-built houses are ill-equipped to withstand the flooding during the
long rainy season from June to August.
The rains cause casualties almost every year in Abidjan.
In June 2009, 21 people were killed, while seven died in
2008.
In 2011, 11 died, while in 2014, 39 were killed in June and
July alone.
The government launched an unpopular drive in August 2014 to
demolish precarious, overcrowded neighbourhoods in the city, citing health and
safety concerns.
"It's not for lack of arrangements. Many places were
cleared for the approaching rains. The maximum was done," government
spokesman Bruno Kone said, while blaming the latest deaths on the weather.
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