At least eight people have been confirmed dead after severe flooding caused by heavy rainfall on Cape Verde’s São Vicente Island overwhelmed emergency services and cut off key roads.
The torrential rains, according to reports, lashed the northern island in the Atlantic archipelago located off West Africa, swamping roads and sweeping away vehicles and people.
Municipal councillor José Carlos da Luz told a state broadcaster that seven of the victims died in the floods, while one person was electrocuted.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the death toll stands at nine, and about 1,500 people have been displaced on São Vicente.
São Vicente usually records 116 millimetres of rain in a year, according to Cape Verde’s meteorology institute.
However, Ester Brito, an executive at the institute, disclosed that 193 millimetres of rain fell within just five hours in the early hours of Monday.
“It is a rare situation because what was recorded is above our 30-year climatological average,” she told journalists on Tuesday, adding that in just two hours more rain fell than the island typically receives in an entire year.
Interior Minister Paulo Rocha said on Monday that floodwaters disrupted transport across São Vicente and severed the main road to Cesária Évora International Airport, though the facility remained operational. Rockfalls also blocked traffic.
“It was a difficult night marked by panic and despair,” Rocha told public radio, adding that first responders were inundated with distress calls.
Rescue and cleanup operations were ongoing, but Rocha said authorities were mobilising resources to help the island return to normal life as quickly as possible.
