The heavy rains drenching Ivory Coast since May have killed at least 15 people in the economic capital Abidjan and injured over two dozen, the government said on Wednesday.

West Africa's rainy season, which lasts three to four months, regularly causes fatalities and damage across Abidjan's hillside shack communities, with 16 people killed last year and 39 in 2014.

"We are today at 15 dead and 25 hurt in total," said Communications Minister Bruno Kone.

Most of the victims lived in the shack communities which cling to hillsides that become unstable in heavy rain.

A previous toll put the number of dead at 11 with several hundred more affected.

The heavy rains also led to the collapse of a bridge into the southern city of San-Pedro, cutting it off for several days. The city hosts the second largest port in Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer.

The government pointed blame for the heavy rains on "climate change and structures in high-risk areas despite the warning of previous public information campaigns."

Tweet

9 children killed as houses collapse in rains in Niger: officials
Niamey (AFP) June 14, 2017
At least nine children have been killed in Niger as heavy rains over the past few days caused the collapse of houses in the capital Niamey, the authorities said Wednesday. The children were killed as buildings gave way in different parts of the city, said Zourkaleini Maiga, secretary general of the local authority. One mother told local television how three of her four children had been ... read more

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest