Torrential rains in Abidjan: “The ground gives way and homes too”

Photo taken by Israël Yoroba Guebo.

Rainy season in Cote d'Ivoire has taken a heavy toll on the country's financial capital, where 19 people have been killed by mudslides. Our Observer in Abidjan says that it's negligence on the part of the authorities that's to blame.

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Yoroba

“The worst affected areas are those which are isolated”

Israël Yoroba Guebo is a blogger and journalist from Adidjan. His blog.

The rain never stops. The worst affected areas are those which are isolated - we call them ‘slums at risk'. The buildings there are very flimsy as they haven't been built to weather any storms. The soil has some hold, but as soon as the torrential rains start the ground gives way and the homes collapse with it. A whole family was swept away while they were sleeping in their beds.

The government says it's launched an evacuation programme, but when I went there I saw that almost everybody is still there. Every year in June it's the same thing, and yet nothing is done. It's what we call here ‘decisions after death'. Last year, we built homes for families who lost theirs. But no major investment is ever made.

When I see the authorities investing millions of CFA francs to for statue maintenance and flower planting, I tell myself that it would be far more logical to invest in life-saving infrastructure."

Yoroba