GUINEA: Flood-hit residents of Conakry cry 'SOS'

Photo: Nancy Palus/IRIN

Boys in the Dabondy neighbourhood of Conakry fill sacks with sand and gravel

CONAKRY, 10 August 2009 (IRIN) - Mariama has a stunned expression as she tells how a wall fell on her when she entered a house looking for a child after floodwaters burst in. She has bruises on her arms and legs and a gash on her back.

Residents of the Dabondy neighbourhood, just off the road to the airport in Guinea’s capital Conakry, are appealing for help from authorities and aid organizations after torrential rains the week of 3 August flooded homes, washed away belongings and destroyed some crops locals grow nearby.

“We are calling for the authorities [and anyone else of goodwill] to help us because the work needed here to avoid this flooding is colossal,” resident Diallo Sekou told IRIN.

“SOS.”

Dabondy residents said the area lacks the infrastructure to evacuate water. Everyone IRIN spoke to pointed to a low bridge nearby, where rubbish packed underneath hinders the passage of water. Fuel residue mixed in with debris in the area has exacerbated the blockage and hurt crops, residents said.

Other areas of Conakry saw flooding too but locals said Dabondy was hit particularly hard by the recent rains.

The mayor of Matoto – Dabondy’s district – and officials of the Health Ministry visited the area after the rains, residents told IRIN. Locals were scheduled to meet with the governor of Conakry for a second time on 10 August to appeal for help, resident Léno Saa Christophe said.

Dabondy residents are used to flooding; throughout the neighbourhood footbridges of logs or pipes are laid out where standing water gets deep. Some people have built their homes with entrances two or three feet high, with wooden platforms or steps for access. The area is low-lying and water can be seen spouting up from the ground.

Conakry receives abundant rains each year and some streets even in the centre of downtown turn into what look like rushing streams for hours. But 15- and 20-year residents of Dabondy told IRIN this year’s rains are the heaviest they have ever seen – and the season is not over.

Higher-than-average rainfall is expected this season in Guinea and other countries in the southern Gulf of Guinea zone, according to the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

“Each year we are victims of flooding here, but this year is exceptional,” resident Léno told IRIN. “The water level has never been this high.”

Many homes were still flooded two days after the rains. Residents continue to put up sandbags and remove water from homes with buckets.

Photo: Nancy Palus/IRIN

The Dabondy neighbourhood of Conakry is hit by flooding every rainy season, residents say

One resident who gave her name as Madame Bah said the floodwaters submerged a community well and swept away the cover. The well was used for cooking and bathing water; for drinking water residents fill jerry cans at a communal tap about 5km away.

Mayor Mohamed Cherif Haïdara told IRIN many people have built houses in lowland areas unsuitable for construction. “They did not consult anyone before building. Beyond that, many of the homes are made of banco [mud from soil mixed with other organic materials such as straw].”

He said he could not comment further for now and that he expects a decision in the coming days on what steps will be taken in the area to avoid flooding in future.

Stuck

Dabondy residents said they would leave the flood-prone area but cannot afford it.

“It is purely because of a lack of means that we live here,” said one woman who preferred anonymity. “The rent here is lower. A one-bedroom house here costs 20.000 Guinean francs (US$4.15) a month; in other parts of Conakry it is five times that or even more.”

Madame Bah told IRIN: “This is our house. We cannot afford to pay rent elsewhere. A landlord would demand six months’ rent in advance. We do not have enough money to feed our children properly; how could we ever afford to move and rent a house?”

She said: “If we don’t find a solution we are going to die here.”

np/aj