DAKAR, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Senegalese President Macky Sall
has activated an emergency aid plan after a seven-hour downpour
caused widespread floods.
Water Minister Serigne Mbaye Thiam told national television
that more rain fell on a single day on Saturday than the country
would usually see during three months of the rainy season.
"This is an exceptional rainfall. We registered 124
millimetres of rain. This is the cumulative rain we get during
the whole rainy season from July to September," Thiam said.
At least one person was reported missing due to the floods
in the central region of Kaolack, said Aissatou Ndiaye, mayor of
Ndiafatte.
According to forecasts by Senegal's meteorological agency
ANACIM, more thunderstorms and rains were expected on Sunday
across most of the country.
Heavy rains have been recorded in the Sahel regions of West
and Central Africa in the past week including in Niger, Nigeria,
Chad and Cameroon, leading to devastating floods that have
killed dozens and displaced thousands of people.