LUANDA, Angola (AFP) — The death toll from a torrential rainstorm that hit Angola’s capital Luanda this week has risen to 24, with more than two thousand homes flooded, officials said.
The hours-long storm pounded the coastal city on Monday, triggering flash floods that brought down buildings and swept away trees and cars.
“The number of deaths has risen from 14 to 24,” Luanda’s provincial government said in a statement late Wednesday.
At least 2,344 homes were flooded and 60 collapsed, it said. A total of 11,745 people have been affected.
Four health centre, four bridges and 14 schools were also submerged.
Heavy downpours are not unusual in Angola during the southwest African country’s rainy season.
Forty-one people died and more than 300 homes were destroyed by flooding in January last year, affecting more than 2,000 families.
© Agence France-Presse