At least five people have died and thousands been left homeless after severe floods in Burkina Faso yesterday. Over 10 Inches of rainfall was reported on the capital city of Ouagadougou, the most in any 12-hour period since 1953.
Plan is coordinating relief efforts with the government and other agencies, and is appealing for urgent funding support.
It is currently estimated that about 700,000 are affected by the floods, and in the capital city of Ouagadougou 109,000 people have lost their homes and belongings. These people are being hosted in 30 sites around the city while many more are unaccounted for.
In rural areas there have been reports of dozens of collapsed houses and farms with growing crops flooded. Schools, mosques and churches are being used as temporary shelters
Stefanie Conrad, who works for Plan in Burkina Faso has experienced the floods first hand:
"Streets have turned into rivers and where water has started to recede, there is mud and dirt. Some areas of the city have become inaccessible as bridges have collapsed," she said.
"Many people are homeless and have lost all their property, including food stocks. Owners of small shops and businesses have lost their goods and people are trying to dry whatever is left in the open air"
Water in the city is turned off, as there are fears the water system has been contaminated. People have been advised not to drink the water. Schools are being used as temporary shelters. Buildings in the central hospital are also flooded and sick people have had to be sent to other medical centers or their homes. Electrical power also continues to be a problem as the generators were flooded and fuel is becoming short as gas station pumps cannot work without electricity.
People now fear that the rain will continue falling and as most of the soil is so saturated, the absorption level is nil which could lead to further floods.
"Everybody is watching the sky," Stefanie said. "Heavy clouds have started to build up again and more rainfall is predicted."
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
An Israeli soldier kneels beside a detained Palestinian farmer as construction vehicles destroy a man-made reservoir (not seen) on his farm near the West Bank city of Hebron September 3, 2009. ...
