• About 140mm of water in one night
  • 2 people dead, collapsed houses 
  • The State promises the necessary means

In Touba, the populations lived a nightmare from Monday to Tuesday night due to heavy rainfall which left two dead and caused the collapse of several houses. 

“What is happening in Touba is unbearable. The situation is very difficult,” says a woman. In the religious city, one person died and another was seriously injured in the collapse of a building in the Keur Niang district. After this trader was found dead in the rubble, a 5-year-old girl has just been pulled from the waters at the Ocass market, not far from the Cheikh Fall Nar shopping centre. An apocalypse.

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Today, the blue ribbon stretches along the city, drawing a scene of chaos. And Ko. Many houses have collapsed. As well as boundary walls. This is not the time to take stock of the material situation, but the situation is very difficult for the inhabitants of the capital of Mouridism. During the night from Monday to Tuesday, the sky opened its floodgates to water the city. These are torrential rains that hit the capital of Mouridism. The historic centre of Touba is under water: the Khadim Rassoul residence, the houses of the late caliphs that surround the Great Mosque of Touba are completely flooded. The districts of Ndamatou, Nguiranène and along the Darou Rahmane road are affected, plunging the populations into disarray. No doubt some residents spent the night standing trying to evacuate the water from their homes. This situation is due to the overflowing of the Keur Niangue retention basin. With the heavy rains, it gave way, thus facilitating the progression of the water towards the interior of the city whose roads had become impassable.

Sub-prefect of the Ndame district, Abdoulaye Kharma describes a difficult situation: « The tour carried out in the commune with the mayor allowed us to note that the situation is too complicated, particularly around the Great Mosque of Touba and at the level of the houses of the sons of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacké. No part of the city has been spared by the floods. On the night of Monday to Tuesday, we received 140.1 millimetres of rain and this caused flooding in many neighbourhoods with, unfortunately, a building that collapsed in Keur Niang and which caused a loss of human life. »  According to him, the authorities have taken steps to evacuate the water and assist the affected families: this involves increasing pumping capacity to allow homes to be liberated quickly, in particular by agents from Touba ca kanam and agents from the National Sanitation Office of Senegal (Onas) and firefighters.

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In response, the mayor of Touba, whose headquarters are underwater, admits his inability to « provide the expected solutions given the seriousness of the situation. » Abdou Lahad Kâ calls on the State of Senegal to react as soon as possible: « It is a very difficult situation. It is a volume of water that has exceeded the sanitation network, the basins could no longer contain it. The whole city is living in difficulty. We are in contact with the Ministers of Sanitation and the Interior to find a solution. We are in solidarity with the populations who are going through difficult times. » It was a long night for the populations.

By Pape N. KA (Special correspondent)

  • Translation by Ndey T. SOSSEH