DAKAR (Reuters) – Senegalese President Macky Sall has activated an emergency aid plan after a seven-hour downpour caused widespread floods.
Water Minister Serigne Mbaye Thiam told national television that more rain fell on a single day on Saturday than the country would usually see during three months of the rainy season.
“This is an exceptional rainfall. We registered 124 millimetres of rain. This is the cumulative rain we get during the whole rainy season from July to September,” Thiam said.
At least one person was reported missing due to the floods in the central region of Kaolack, said Aissatou Ndiaye, mayor of Ndiafatte.
According to forecasts by Senegal’s meteorological agency ANACIM, more thunderstorms and rains were expected on Sunday across most of the country.
Heavy rains have been recorded in the Sahel regions of West and Central Africa in the past week including in Niger, Nigeria, Chad and Cameroon, leading to devastating floods that have killed dozens and displaced thousands of people.
(Reporting by Diadie Ba; Writing by Bate Felix, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
