The rains that hit across the country caused the death of 58 people in November alone, according to data provided by the Civil Protection and Fire Department of eight provinces, and compiled by the newspaper OPAÍS. Atmospheric discharges or lightning, falling walls and drowning are the main situations that contributed to these Angolan citizens losing their lives
The current balance of the recent rains that fell on Luanda accounts for at least four deaths caused by the currents of the waters that dragged the victims until they left them lifeless. Among the dead, three were members of the same family. The data was released yesterday by the Civil Protection and Fire Service (SPCB), in Luanda, which announced the first three deaths that occurred in the country’s capital due to heavy rainfall. mother who was swept away by the waters with her children.
The incident happened, in the municipality of Cacuaco, when the mother tried, without success, to cross a drainage ditch, but, halfway through, “they were swept away by the currents of water”, according to the SPCB spokesperson- Luanda, Maina Panzo. “Last week, we had three deaths.
It was a mother and her two children aged between 3 and 5 years old. From this rainy season, we have already evolved to four deaths in the province of Luanda”, she added. The person responsible clarified that the fourth death was recorded on Tuesday, 21, from the same cause. The rains that fell over the province of Luanda, on that date, killed a girl under 10 years old, following she was also swept away by a strong current, in the municipality of Belas.
The spokesperson therefore advised people to stay in their homes whenever possible while it is raining. However, she stressed, if they are surprised they should take shelter in safe places and avoid staying under trees.
More than 800 flooded homes and trails of destruction
Rainfall left more than 800 homes flooded during the current rainy season, as well as trees that gave way to strong winds and fell from flooded streets, especially secondary and tertiary streets. The records of these streets are from the urban district of Zango, municipality of Cazenga and the municipality of Cacuaco. In these areas, some drainage ditches exceeded their capacity and overflowed.
“We had a total of 800 flooded residences. Some streets in the province were even impassable,” he said. In the urban district of Vila Flor, the SPCB reported the fall of nine trees, while in the municipalities of Viana and Talatona, rain caused the flooding of a public school and two landslides, respectively.
Cuando Cubango: four deaths and more than 300 people in the open
The rains, in the province of Cuando Cubango, killed four people due to atmospheric discharges and left 14 others injured from the same causes, as well as from collapsing walls, according to SPCB-Cuando Cubango spokesperson, third deputy chief Albano Cutarica. “Since the beginning of the current rainy season, on August 15th of this year, we have recorded, to date, 18 human victims, among which four resulted in death due to atmospheric discharge and 14 were injured”, he informed . According to the head of the Institutional Communication and Press Office of the SPCB-Cuando Cubango, in addition to the dead and injured, the rains also left 300 people outdoors, following the destruction of their homes.
The data is part of a record of 145 affected residences since the beginning of the season. The mines were not spared, with 65 being flooded in the municipality of Dirico. “We have 95 homes completely destroyed and more than 50 partially destroyed, which makes 675 people affected, of which more than 300 were left in the open,” he said.
For the Civil Protection and Fire Service, in that province, the data reflects the concerns of the command, which assumes the social objective of guaranteeing the protection of life, property and the environment. Albano Cutarica said that, when lives that must be protected are taken by natural phenomena, it adds to the SPCB’s concern, which is why, before the start of the season, it developed an awareness campaign regarding the risks of disasters resulting from rain.
Huambo: 26 deaths
In the early hours of last Thursday, the Bailundo region recorded heavy rain, which caused the death of a two-year-old child and injuries to two others from the same family. Two days earlier, on Tuesday, a couple in the municipality of Caála died as a result of atmospheric discharge. Also due to the rain, in the same municipality (Caála), two children lost their lives as a result of the collapse of a wall of the house in which they lived.
It should be noted that the rains that fell throughout the province of Huambo caused 18 deaths last week, of which 11 were due to electrical discharges, in addition to 21 serious and minor injuries. And, on the first day of November, three people died in the city of Huambo as a result of the rain.
Huila: five deaths
Five people died and eight others were injured, as a result of the first rains of the season, accompanied by atmospheric discharges, which hit Huíla in the last seven days. The information was provided, on Wednesday, by the acting spokesperson for the Civil Protection and Fire Service of Huíla, Francisco Matias, highlighting that in total, from the 15th to the 21st of this month, 45 incidents were recorded, with the record of 13 victims aged between seven and 35, whose incidence locations are the municipalities of Caluquembe and Lubango.
Malanje: 12 deaths
The latest floods caused nine deaths in Malanje, six in the main municipality, two in Calandula and one in Cacuso, as well as the displacement of 1,731 families, according to the spokesperson for the Provincial Civil Protection Commission, Paulina Dimuna. On the 7th and 6th of November it rained heavily and three people lost their lives. With 621 houses destroyed, the municipality of Malanje is, so far, the most affected, followed by Mucari, with 78 and Calandula 74.
Uíge: three deaths Three people died and 85 others were left homeless in the province of Uíge, as a result of the heavy rains that fell in the region. They are two children aged five and 14, respectively, who were bathing in the rain and were swept away by the current of water. The incident occurred in the Mbemba Ngango and Dunga neighborhoods, in the city of Uíge. The other victim (a 42-year-old citizen) died buried due to the collapse of the wall of her residence, in the municipality of Bungo.
Moxico: two deaths
Two people have died and 1,365 have been left homeless since the beginning of the current rainy season in the municipalities of Alto-Zambeze and Bundas, according to the local Civil Protection and Fire Services. The two people died from atmospheric discharge, while 273 families lost their homes as a result of the heavy rains.
Cuanza Sul: two deaths
Two people died and 43 homes were partially destroyed as a result of the heavy rains that fell over the last seven days in the province of Cuanza Sul. One of the deaths occurred in the municipality of Mussende, when a 19-year-old citizen was hit by an atmospheric discharge, while the other was recorded in Libolo, involving an elderly man, aged 71, who was swept away by the current of rainwater.
