Angola Says Storms, Floods, Mudslides Kill 114
Pastor Dale Morgan
Angola Says Storms, Floods, Mudslides Kill 114*
The Associated Press
Wednesday, February 7, 2007; 4:34 PM
LUANDA, Angola -- Storms that lashed Angola in recent weeks led to the
deaths of 114 people, according to a government report cited by state
media Wednesday.
Ten people were still missing and more than 28,000 were left homeless by
the torrential rain that caused flash floods and mudslides, according to
a report presented to Parliament on Tuesday by Social Assistance
Minister Joao Baptista Kussumua, daily paper Jornal de Angola reported.
The government said the storms destroyed more than 10,000 homes in 12 of
the country's 18 provinces. The torrential rain also knocked out 38
bridges and washed away numerous rural roads, the paper reported.
The storms began in mid-January and abated only at the start of last
week. The government's account said the peak was on Jan. 22, when six
inches of rain fell on Luanda in 24 hours, according to Jornal de
Angola. That was the highest amount in a single day in 30 years, the
government said.
Health authorities said the rain has left large areas of the capital of
Luanda under water, worsening a cholera epidemic that broke out a year ago.
Officials reported that more than 100 new cholera cases were being
reported each day, up from about 10 new cases a day in early January.
About 4 million people live in Luanda, many of them in slums.
The epidemic has killed more than 2,700 people nationwide in the past year.
Cholera is transmitted through contaminated water and is linked to poor
hygiene, overcrowding and inadequate sanitation.