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Thousands homeless following Burkina Faso floods
Banh, Burkina Faso (AFP) Aug 16, 2007 Thousands of people were homeless and more than a dozen villages remained under water on Thursday in northern Burkina Faso following heavy rains, officials said. Some 6,204 people were without homes in the Loroum province after the August 4 and 5 storms, according to authorities in the province. In the village of Banh, the hardest-hit area, 588 houses were destroyed and 2,995 were homeless. Several hundred people had taken refuge in a school. "The rain started at two in the morning and didn't stop until the next day at eight in the evening," said Issiaka Mande, an elderly man from the village. "I have never seen that." At least 14 villages remained flooded, according to Maxime Bouda, head of the province's emergency rescue committee. "We have lost all of our school's supplies (for the canteen)," said Diadie Tamboura, head of an association of students' parents in Banh. "Nothing could be recovered except a few bottles of oil." Boukary Barry, mayor of the village, said Banh's only mill had been engulfed by water. "The mill allowed us to grind grains and charge batteries for televisions, mobile phones and radio receivers," he said. He added: "The water has now stagnated and the hope of having shelter is increasingly slim. Wells are completely flooded and the problem of potable water is acute." National television reported there was an urgent need for tents, supplies and medicine. "The government will do everything possible to bring the necessary aid to those affected," Pascaline Tamini told the television station. The head doctor for the district of Titao in the area said "we lack everything", including disinfectants, bedding materials and tents. Burkina Faso, a landlocked west African nation, has a population of about 14 million. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Africa News - Resources, Health, Food
South West Africa Form Joint Fishing Body, Ivory Coast Warns Of Disappearing Forests
Windhoek (AFP) July 20, 2007Angola, Namibia and South Africa launched a joint commission Friday designed to lay the groundwork for a sustainable and environmental approach of their shared fishing grounds in the Atlantic Ocean. "The Benguela Current Commission (BCC) is the first of its kind in the world," said Namibia's fisheries minister Abraham Iyambo at the opening of the new body in the Namibian capital Windhoek. |
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