Eight people died as a result of the rains that fell on the city of Luanda in the period from August 15th to December 5th, the Provincial Civil Protection Commission reported yesterday, December 11th. The data was presented during the review meeting to assess the impact of rains in the current season, held in the Provincial Government.
According to the commission’s spokesman, Bravo Mendes, the deaths were due to trawling, electrocution and drowning. He pointed out the municipality of Cacuaco, with three cases, as being the one with the most victims, while the other cases were registered in the municipalities of Luanda, Belas, Cazenga, Kilamba Kiaxi and Viana. In relation to the number of flooded residences, a total of six thousand, 175 collapsed houses and six thousand and 240 affected families were recorded.
Bravo Mendes explained that the municipality of Viana leads the number of flooded residences with four thousand and 48 cases, followed by Kilamba Kiaxi, with one thousand and three cases. Houses collapsed in the municipalities of Cacuaco, Talatona, Belas and Quiçama. The rains also caused the fall of 100 trees in the municipality of Luanda, five in the municipality of Belas, one in Talatona and the same number in the municipality of Kilamba Kiaxi. There were also 10 damaged schools recorded in the municipality of Viana, six in Cazenga, three in Kilamba Kiaxi, two in Belas and one in Luanda, in addition to two hospitals in the municipality of Cazenga.
The person in charge lamented the existence of few technical aids such as motor pumps, chainsaws, suction vehicles and generators to respond to emergencies. In turn, the director of the National Institute of Meteorology and Geophysics (INAMET), João Afonso, said that above-average rainfall is forecast during this month, as well as January and February 2024. The forecast is for rainfall above 300 millimeters. Luanda once once more received heavy rain during the early hours of this Monday, leaving streets and avenues impassable, houses flooded, among other damages yet to be assessed.
