Latest news with #BenjaminKamano
Yahoo
02-08-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Heavy rains in Guinea capital Conakry cause multiple deaths and destroy homes
At least seven people have died in Conakry due to heavy overnight rain, exposing the city's vulnerability to extreme weather. The downpour, which struck overnight from Wednesday 30 July to Thursday 31 July, brought chaos to numerous neighbourhoods, collapsing homes and sweeping vehicles into the floodwaters. The government said seven people had died, though civil protection services suggest the death toll could be even higher, as several people are still missing. Several buildings collapsed during the downpour, trapping residents in floodwaters, local media and witnesses said. A resident of the Soumanbosiya neighbourhood, Benjamin Kamano, lost his three children and their mother when part of their home collapsed. 'I heard the children calling for help,' he told AFP reporters. 'I got up quickly and found myself underwater… There was no one in the children's room. I realised they were gone, because their crying had stopped.' The municipality of Matoto – Conakry's largest – also suffered heavily, with at least five reported deaths after two homes collapsed. Rescue operations underway after Nigeria flooding kills at least 150 Infrastructure, drainage systems overwhelmed The rainfall recorded in Conakry on Wednesday evening reached 70.8mm, according to national meteorological services. The effects have been compounded by longstanding urban planning issues, with unregulated construction and blocked drainage systems making many parts of the city vulnerable to severe flooding. Since the end of June, flooding in Guinea has resulted in at least 15 deaths and affected over 1,200 households. The director of the National Agency for Emergency and Humanitarian Disaster Management, Lancei Touré, acknowledged that poor infrastructure and overwhelmed drainage systems have exacerbated the crisis. In a statement issued Thursday, the government expressed 'deep sadness' over the loss of life and widespread damage. It pledged ongoing efforts to assist affected families and address the root causes of the city's vulnerability to extreme weather events. As the rainy season continues, many residents remain on high alert. There are growing calls for sustainable urban reforms to better protect Guinea's capital from future disasters. Unprecedented floods devastate harvests in northeastern Senegal (With AFP)
Al Etihad
01-08-2025
- Climate
- Al Etihad
Heavy rain in Guinea capital kills at least seven
1 Aug 2025 20:42 CONAKRY (AFP) At least seven people have died in Guinea's capital, Conakry, due to heavy overnight rain, the government said city's civil protection service had earlier told AFP that at least three were buildings collapsed during the downpour, trapping residents in floodwaters, local media and witnesses resident, Benjamin Kamano, described to AFP how his three children and their mother died when they were washed away when part of their house collapsed in the deluge."I heard the children calling for help," he said. "I got up quickly and found myself underwater... There was no one in the children's room. I realised they were gone, because their crying had stopped."The deaths added to a toll of 15, the government previously announced this week, from flooding that has gripped the West African country since the end of urban inundations were worsened by uncontrolled construction and clogged gutters, the director of Guinea's National Agency for Emergency and Humanitarian Disaster Management, Lancei Toure, told AFP on Tuesday.
