Heavy rains kill at least 25 people in Angola

At least 25 people have been killed in heavy rains and flooding in the southwestern Angolan province of Namibe, a report said on Sunday.

"We flew over some areas and we learned that the situation was serious," Home Affairs Minister Sebastiao Martins told the Angola Press news agency after visiting at the weekend.

The government has not released estimates on the damage caused in the Atlantic coast area about 750 km (460 miles) south of the capital Luanda.

According to a 2009 Angola, Namibia and Zambia reports, floods are a continuing natural disaster which began in early March 2009 and have resulted in the deaths of at least 131 people and have otherwise affected around 445,000 people.

There are fears that the flood crisis in this neighboring countries could exacerbate diseases already present in the area, particularly cholera and malaria.

Cholera is transmitted through contaminated water and is linked to poor hygiene, overcrowding and inadequate sanitation. Though it can be treated easily, cholera is a major killer in developing countries.

This is a troublesome situation as health authorities have previously warned about Cholera outbreak which could take as many lives of people in the region. UNICEF once emphasized on how food insecurity could provoke up to 100,000 severely malnourished children, given the high cost of food, localized rain failures and flooding. Including the ongoing cholera outbreak which resulted in 9,397 cases with 222 deaths according to a 2008 statistics.

Source:
Reuters,"Heavy rains kill at least 25 people in Angola", accessed March 7, 2011