Floods caused by days of heavy rain have caused the collapse of about 3 000 houses and left up to 20 000 people homeless in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, a local Red Cross official told state radio on Thursday.
Alphonse Zarambaud, acting secretary general of the Red Cross, made no mention of any deaths or injuries from the floods, which particularly affected the poorest and most heavily populated districts of Bangui.
But he said he is afraid of disease spreading, as there are many dead animals in the streets of the city of about 600 000 people, which lacks drainage and has many open latrines.
”At present, there are 3 010 families totally without shelter, which represents between 18 000 and 20 000 people deprived of resources,” he said.
”This total will worsen as most of the flooded houses will collapse because of the fragile materials used in their construction.”
Some of the homeless have been taken in by relatives, while others have taken refuge in local schools, Zarambaud said.
The rainy season begins in mid-July in the Central African Republic, one of the world’s poorest and most unstable countries. — Sapa-AFP