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Mauritania: Landslides Leave Residents Homeless

Categories: Middle East & North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Mauritania, Citizen Media, Disaster, Environment, Humanitarian Response

Landslides resulting from recent heavy rain have left hundreds of families homeless [1] [ar] in different parts of Mauritania. After destroying their homes, the landslides [at the end of July 2012] left hundreds of families in Kaedi [2] [ar] (Southern Mauritania [3]), Makta'a Lahjar and Aleg (Central Mauritania), and Nema [4] (Eastern Mauritania), without roofs over their heads.

The heavy rains came after two years of decreased rainfall, which led to droughts all over Mauritania that almost threatened to decimate the country's animal resources. The people of Mauritania highly depend on these for their lives; some 700,000 citizens [5] face the danger of starvation according to a report by the World Food Programme.

A photo showing the effects of the floods published by @RimtodayRim on Twitter. [6]

A photo showing the effects of the floods published by @RimtodayRim on Twitter.

Alegcom [7] [ar] blog talked about the condition of Magta-lihjar city after the floods:

تعيش مدينة مقطع لحجار [8] هذه الأيام أوضاعا صعبة بفعل موجة السيول التي اجتاحت المدينة فجر الاثنين الماضي وأسفرت عن تشريد ما لا يقل عن ثلاث مائة أسرة، متسببة في قطع طريق الأمل الذي يعتبر شريان الحياة بالنسبة للموريتانيين في وسط البلاد وشرقها.

The city of Magta-lihjar [8] lives these days in tough conditions because of the wave of floods that hit the city last Monday at dawn and resulted in the displacement of at least 300 families, and caused the closure of the Road of Hope, which is considered the lifeline for Mauritanians in the country's center and east.
A photo of water flooding the 'Road of Hope' in Aleg published by Alegcom blog. [9]

A photo of water flooding the ‘Road of Hope’ in Aleg published by Alegcom blog.

The blog also talked [10] [ar] about the drowning of a young man from Sankrafah:

توفى عصر اليوم بمدينة صنكرافه أقصى شرقى لبراكنه الشاب ” سيدى محمد ولد أحمد لعياس “غرقا فى المياه الراكدة التى خلفتها الأمطار الأخيرة على المنطقة.

Sidi Mohamed Ahmed Layas died this afternoon in Sankrafah (far East Brakna). He drowned in the stagnant water that remained from the recent rainfall over the region.

Kankossatoday [11] [ar] blog also talked about the displacement of 30 families in one of the villages:

تسببت السيول الناتجة عن الأمطار الغزيرة التي شهدتها قرية كرل فلي على بعد 30 كلم جنوبي كنكوصه والتابعة لبلدية هامد في تشريد 30 أسرة على الأقل بعد أن جرفت منازلهم وقال مسؤول القرية السيد بولاي فلي في تصريح للمدونة إن 24 مسكنا تم جرفها بالكامل وقد استوت بالأرض فيما تشققت 6 منازل وأصبحت غير صالحة للسكن.

The floods caused by the heavy rains that Cerl Fle village (30 km south Kankossa) has witnessed, have resulted in the displacement of at least 30 families after their houses were swept away. Mr Bolay, the village's official, said in a statement to the blog that 24 houses have been swept away completely, while six other houses were destroyed and became uninhabitable.

Mauritanie demain [12] [ar] page on Facebook showed solidarity with the homeless in Kaedi:

لا تنسوا إخوانكم في كيهيدي [13] من دعائكم عند الإفطار فقد تضرروا من جراء الأمطار اليوم.

Don't forget to pray for your brothers in Kaedi [14] while having breakfast. They were effected badly because of today's rain.