Fifteen Dead as Heavy Rains Batter Angola

(MENAFN) At least 15 people have lost their lives and 14 others have been hospitalized after torrential rains hammered multiple regions of Angola over a 24-hour span, local media reported Sunday — with five additional individuals still unaccounted for as emergency teams race to reach the hardest-hit communities.

According to a social media post by Agora Aguenta, the majority of fatalities — 12 in total — were concentrated in Benguela Province, with three further deaths recorded in the capital, Luanda. Among the injured, 10 were reported in Benguela, three in Luanda, and one in Huambo. Five people remain missing: three in Luanda and two in Benguela.

The scale of destruction in Luanda was severe, with authorities reporting approximately 4,180 homes submerged by floodwaters. Critical infrastructure bore the brunt of the deluge, including two electrical substations knocked out of service. Streets were rendered impassable, residential areas were inundated, trees toppled across the city, and two retention basins overflowed — compounding the environmental toll of the disaster.

Emergency response teams have since been deployed to the most severely affected zones, with operations focused primarily on the Luanda Province municipalities of Mulenvos, Camama, and Cacuaco. Personnel are conducting systematic damage assessments while providing direct assistance to displaced and affected residents, reports indicated.

The disaster underscores Angola's deepening vulnerability to extreme weather events, as seasonal rains continue to overwhelm urban infrastructure across the country's most densely populated provinces.

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