Public transportation in the Senegalese capital has been partially suspended due to bad weather, while the weather forecast predicts more rain.
It has been raining in Dakar for two days in a row. While September usually marks the end of the rainy season, the Senegalese capital and several other places in the country have been hit by heavy rains in recent days. The bad weather has disrupted travel, flooding some roads and forcing many motorists to abandon their vehicles.
The public transport company, Dakar Dem Dikk, has “partially and temporarily” suspended its urban network due to the bad weather. The regional express train (TER) is also operating on a reduced service, with trains running only between Dakar and Yeumbeul, in the Dakar suburbs, at a rate of one train every twenty minutes on Thursday, according to SETER, the company that operates the TER.
The National Meteorological Agency (ANACIM) had warned on Wednesday that thunderstorms and rain were expected over most of the country, particularly in the southwest and center-west regions, with moderate precipitation.
However, Dakar, the country’s economic center despite its small size, was not spared by the bad weather, which left several families submerged. Many people were unable to reach their workplaces due to the situation, which seems to herald a particularly wet end to the winter season for the country.
This Thursday, the skies will remain cloudy to overcast in the southwest (Ziguinchor, Sédhiou), center-west (Fatick, Kaolack) and west (Dakar, Thiès) regions, with a risk of rain in places. In the late evening, “thunderstorms from Mali” could affect the southeast, particularly Kédougou, ANACIM adds.
ODL/sf/te/lb/as/APA
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