The electricity has just come back on at 8pm after more than 12hours off, in time for the news, and it’s full of scenes of floods: today more than 264mm rain in Ouaga in the last 24h (highest since 1922), and scenes of people crossing roads up to their necks in water dragging suitcases, knee-deep pushing motorbikes in the center of town on the way to work, people sitting in puddles with piles of furniture outside of mudbrick houses now just scattered mud bricks, 4WDs thrown on top of a sedan’s roof barely visible through the water …I waited the heavy steady rain out until 8am and tried to leave for IMS when it was still raining … but didn’t even complete the turn out of the street when I saw the car in the ‘river’ at the crossroads bogged up to the top of its tyres. I rang work, heard the roads there were still running, reminded them to put the electricity wiring up off the floor and then thought to look at mine … and found every room of the house except the kitchen with puddles of water that I spent clearing up for the next few hours as they kept being fed by the leaks. Some came down the walls, including in the wardrobe so all my shoes and some dresses were wet.
Within a half hour Joel had rung and said that with his 4WD he had passed many cars trapped by water on the main roads, no staff had made it through and said he’d cancelled classes for the day. Later in the morning two calls came from SIM asking how I was – my leaks were minor stuff compared to what was happening in town. When the rain wasn’t as strong I put on a raincoat, went across the road and they were pushing out water of the little shop, which had come up about 1ft into the shop and drowned the freezer motor (lucky the electricity was out). The guys gathered there said the radio had called for volunteers to come to the hospital to help the army evacuate patients to the other local hospitals since it was flooded too.
I rang Leah and told her not to bother coming in. Philippe my night guard had also not dared to leave with the roads flooded, especially since he’s recovering from typhoid fever and spent the day in the storeroom with my folded bed, stove and camping cooking stuff. I appreciated the work we’d been doing in the garden to clear dead wood and ensure a clear passage of water out of the compound which meant not too much stuff thrown down by the wind (passionfruit vines at the back were falling down but Philippe managed them soon) and as the rain started to slow in the afternoon the earth and grass was soon visible again.
The authorities are urging people not to go to work if it means crossing watery areas that are unknown underneath, and are opening schools and admin buildings for those flooded out. I’ll be ringing IMS before going tomorrow!
The weather man said it could happen again …
