Severe flooding in Dakar overwhelms neighborhoods and disrupts transport and schools

Residents of the Parcelles assainies district in Dakar watched rainwater rise on their streets, eventually overwhelming a wall that had previously withstood storms and flooding the lower floors of a multi-tenant house, where a young mother and her child lost their lives. The same extreme rainfall caused a nearby stream in Mbao to break its banks, sending water onto the toll highway that connects Dakar to its suburbs and immobilising traffic for an extended period.

In the city’s affluent Point E neighborhood, the Canal 4 tunnel remained water-logged for several days after the downpour. Flooded classrooms and damaged roofs forced authorities to delay the reopening of schools by several days. The combined damage highlights the vulnerability of Dakar’s infrastructure to unprecedented rain events.