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At least eight people have died after severe flooding on São Vicente island in Cape Verde overwhelmed emergency services and cut off major roads, a regional civil protection councillor said on Tuesday.
Torrential rain pounded the northern island on Monday morning, swamping streets and sweeping away vehicles and people in its path. Located in the Atlantic off West Africa, São Vicente was left reeling as emergency crews struggled to respond.
Municipal councillor José Carlos da Luz told state television that seven people had been killed in the floods and another had died from electrocution. He added that three people remained missing.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reported on Monday that the death toll had reached nine and said 1,500 people had been displaced.
São Vicente typically receives 116 mm of rain in an entire year, according to the country’s meteorology institute. But in the early hours of Monday, 193 mm fell in just five hours, said Ester Brito, an executive at the institute.
“It is a rare situation because what was recorded is above our 30-year climatological average,” she told Reuters. “In just two hours, more rain fell than the island typically receives annually.”
The U.S. National Hurricane Centre said Tropical Storm Erin was about 280 miles (455 km) west-northwest of Cape Verde on Monday, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph (75 kph).
Interior Minister Paulo Rocha said the floodwaters had disrupted transport across São Vicente and severed the main road to Cesária Évora International Airport, though the airport itself remained open. Rockfalls also blocked traffic.
“It was a difficult night marked by panic and despair,” Rocha told public radio, adding that first responders had been inundated with distress calls.
Rescue and cleanup operations are ongoing, and Rocha said authorities are mobilising resources to help the island return to normal as quickly as possible.
