Côte d’Ivoire floods kill 59 since May as West Africa braces for heavier rainy-season rain

Flooding in Côte d’Ivoire has killed 59 people since May, the country’s communication minister, Amadou Coulibaly, told a cabinet meeting in Abidjan on Wednesday, as West Africa continues to endure unusually heavy rainy-season weather. Coulibaly said search and rescue efforts are ongoing and that officials fear the death toll could rise further during the rainy season, which typically runs from May through July.

The Guardian reported that the worst impacts have been concentrated along coastal areas and in neighborhoods where residents have been forced to move through submerged streets. The outlet said video shared online showed residents wading through floodwaters to reach drier ground, while authorities continued efforts to locate people missing after local waterways overflowed.

DW reported that Coulibaly described the rainy season as “particularly heavy,” noting that the country is still at the beginning of the season while already recording a “particularly high toll” of 59 deaths. DW also said floods have been a recurring problem in Abidjan, and it referenced government reporting that 10 people were killed in floods in the capital over a two-day period earlier this week.

In parallel, Ghana has reported its own fatalities from the same broader weather system. The Guardian said Ghana recorded at least 13 deaths and that more than 400 people were rescued on Tuesday, according to the Ghana fire service. Ghana’s president, John Mahama, posted that the downpour was approximately 140 millimeters of rain, described as significantly higher than the highest single-day rainfall recorded last year of about 56 millimeters.

DW said the flooding also caused deaths in Ghana and affected parts of Accra, where buildings and roads were submerged. DW added that large informal settlements have expanded in flood-prone areas amid rapid urban growth, and it reported that government operations in prior years have included evictions and demolition in what officials have described as precarious zones.

Both outlets pointed to multiple contributors to the scale of the disaster. The Guardian said climate breakdown can exacerbate the frequency and impact of extreme weather, while also noting that poor waste management and urban population growth have been acknowledged as factors that worsen flooding and strain existing infrastructure. DW similarly tied the recurring pattern in cities to settlement in vulnerable areas and to the consequences of fast urban expansion.

The governments’ immediate focus remains on rescue operations and on preventing additional deaths as rain continues. Officials said searches are ongoing in Côte d’Ivoire’s flood-affected localities, and the rainy season timeframe implies additional periods of risk in the coming weeks, even as casualty figures may change as teams recover victims and verify missing persons reports. Authorities in the region are also monitoring downstream impacts that could extend beyond national borders as rivers and coastal drainage systems respond to successive storms.

Some evacuation and relocation policies could become a continuing point of scrutiny as well. DW reported Coulibaly said areas where residents complied with safety instructions and agreed to relocate have not yet seen flooding deaths, while also citing incidents in Abidjan’s Attecoube neighborhood involving people who had returned to previously cleared sites. That framing suggests officials will face pressure to document whether warnings are reaching vulnerable households and whether relocation policies reduce exposure during future storms.