Heavy floods hit West Africa, at least 32 dies

Watch Video

Play Video

Heavy flood is hitting some 350-thousand people across West Africa, killing at least 25 in Ghana and 7 in Burkina Faso.

The most badly affected appears to be Burkina Faso, where 110,000 have been forced to flee their homes, mainly in the capital, Ouagadougou.

Flood damage in the nation had risen to 152 million US dollars as of Friday. That includes a dam destroyed and 12 bridges damaged in Ouagadougou and a dam destroyed in Sabba village, 10 kilometers from the capital.

A Sabba village resident said, "This dam was a source of revenue for us. We made our livelihood out of it, which allowed us to feed our families and send our kids to school. Now we cannot make ends meet. We ask the government for help."

The amount of rain that fell Thursday in Ouagadougou equalles a quarter of all Burkina Faso's typical annual rainfall.

The local authories have already began the future plans for rehabilition after the disaster.

Patrice Nikiema, local official, said, "There already are ongoing rehabilitation studies. There are water plans for our region, dams, water facilities, they are all being studied (worked on)."

Also hard hit are the Western African nations of Mali, Benin, Guinea, Niger and Senegal.