Al-Akhbar (Nouakchott) – The ministerial committee in charge of emergencies confirmed today the death of four people in various parts of the country due to floods and heavy rains witnessed in recent days.

The committee stated in its briefing that the deaths involved a woman who drowned in the city of Néma in the Hodh Ech Chargui region after being swept away by floods in the municipality’s lowlands, and a young man who drowned in the village of Arken in the Bassiknou district of the same region.

Also, a person died in the city of Aioun after a house collapsed on him, and yesterday the body of a child was found in the city of Kiffa after drowning in one of the ponds adjacent to the river near the village of Binabah in the municipality.

The committee informed administrative authorities about the imminent danger to some road sections and bridges located on the Kiffa-Maqamah road, the entrance to Maqamah, and the Bir Al-Birka bridge in the Néro and Wou municipalities in the Kiffa district, in addition to kilometer 1 of the secondary road leading to the capital of the Tifonde Seve municipality, noting that all these sections require urgent intervention before rainfall intensifies.

The committee mentioned that recent rainfall in Bassiknou caused flooding of a World Food Program (WFP) warehouse containing food supplies, and parts of the city were flooded.

The emergency committee added that the low area of Al-Amal road, located at the road in the village of Atoujkejjet in the Sankrava municipality, was damaged, leading to road blockage and traffic disruption. A bridge has been scheduled at this point as part of the emergency plan.

The committee also confirmed the loss of a Hilux vehicle in the Néma district used by a medical team from the regional health administration after it was swept away by floods in the lowlands of the Agrif village. Five people were on board and managed to get out safely.

The committee reported a power outage in the city of Anbiké in the Tagant region due to the fall of four electrical poles on the line supplying the prison caused by winds accompanying the rains, in addition to the fall of ten electrical poles (seven in As-Safa and three in Tamchekt) in the Hodh El Gharbi region due to thunderstorms and rain.

The committee said a sewage tanker was directed to the WFP warehouses, and water was completely pumped out without damage to the stock. Water pumping operations continue in Bassiknou.

The committee confirmed the completion of pumping water from the basins built to collect rainwater runoff in Kiffa, which were fully filled after recent rainfall.

Civil protection teams have continued since this morning pumping and draining rainwater for some affected residents in the city of Aleg due to heavy rainfall recorded last night, with efforts ongoing to mitigate the effects and assist the victims.

The committee noted that the National Sanitation Office deployed two tankers in the field, established two pumping stations, and operates a pumping system currently.

According to the committee, the office cleaned the existing rainwater drainage network to enhance this system and improve the efficiency of draining stagnant water. It also intends to deploy one to two additional tankers and four mobile water pumps as soon as possible.