Two deaths and one injured at the Sanitized plots: emotion and consternation at Unit 7
The torrential rains recorded on Sunday October 4 at unit 7 of Parcelles Assainies caused two victims: A. Sène and his son Mb. Gningue. In this district, the populations are demanding a water evacuation system as well as the paving of the streets.
Monday October 5, 2026. Past 12 p.m. The sun casts its rays on Dakar, the day after heavy rains and floods. At Parcelles Assainies, it is a day of sadness, emotion and dismay. Unit 7 remains one of the hardest hit locations.
On site, men, women and young people deploy to pump the water which invades the place. Wet clothes, sunken luggage, garlic cloves and other condiments float on the surface, while rubbish of all kinds litters the place.
In front of the mortuary house, whose enclosure wall was damaged by heavy rains, a human chain was formed. The young people, equipped with buckets, work to evacuate the water.
According to Commissioner Sow of Parcelles Assainies, whom we reached by telephone, it was on Sunday October 4, around 6:30 p.m., that he was informed of the death of two people: A. Sène, aged 25, and her son Mb. Gningue, aged 3 to 4 years.
According to Soulèye Serigne Thiané, manager of the Demba Dia socio-cultural center room, an injured person, Pape Alassane Faye, was also recorded. He suffered trauma to the right knee, the ankle of the same foot as well as some scratches. It is also supported by the town hall of Parcelles Assainies.
According to Fallou Sarr, manager of this house where 36 people lived, the rains on Sunday October 4 caused significant damage.
“The water came with great speed; it was overflowing everywhere. We were loading sandbags to stop it, while others were trying to make furrows to evacuate it. “That’s when she knocked down a large section of the fence to get into the house,” he explains. The two victims, who were sleeping, were surprised by the water.
sleepless night
Overwhelmed by the events, the roommates took refuge on the first floor, while the two victims were missing. “For 48 hours, we have been sleeping under the stars; others are housed at the Parcelles Assainies town hall. Our clothes are not changed. We neither ate nor drank, but we thank God,” testifies, in tears, Fallou Sarr.
For Ousmane Sarr, who lives in unit 7, the inhabitants of the Senelec city have been experiencing a real ordeal with each rainy episode for more than 20 years. “I’m almost 1.95 m tall. My little brother is taller than me, but when he entered the house, he almost drowned. He immediately came out. It was young people from the neighborhood who took a ladder to go into the adjoining house and bring up the two victims, who were already lifeless,” he says. Continuing, he denounces the absence of a water evacuation system and cleaning of the canals, the silting which creates slopes or descents in places, as well as certain carters who dump rubble in the neighborhood. “We need paving of the streets,” he asks. The same request is made by Oustaz Baye Thiam, from the Franco-Arab school El Hadji Omar Ngoné.
The tenant of the bereaved house, Youssoupha Ba, reveals: “I have lived there for two years, but this is the first time that I have witnessed such a scenario. We lost everything: clothes, phones, mattresses, blankets.” Same story with his roommate, Ibrahima Diongue, worker in a biscuit factory. With a haggard look, he says he lost money. At the Mame Diarra Bousso Franco-Arab school in unit 7 of Parcelles Assainies, the grounds of the establishment are also engulfed by water. A section of the wall collapsed.
Khadim Ndiaye, a second-year student at Parcelles Assainies high school, explains: “We tried to evacuate the water until 2 a.m. The next day, we returned to the charge at 9 a.m. The rains caused serious material damage. The Onas pumping system is not working well; during the rain, the water mixed with the water from the septic tanks.”
Sadikh Sène, agent at the National Sanitation Office of Senegal (Onas), confirms that his household appliances, mattresses, clothes and shoes were wet by the water. “The device was pumping normally, but it rained a lot the day before yesterday. The two stations do not perform the same role: one is reserved for rainwater, the other for wastewater,” he explains. At the Demba Dia socio-educational home, 15 victims of different nationalities are accommodated. All lost property has been inventoried. In the afternoon, the Minister of the Interior, Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé, and the Minister of Hydraulics and Sanitation, Dr Cheikh Tidiane Dièye, went to Parcelles Assainies to bring the message of compassion and support from the Head of State, Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
By Serigne Mansour Sy CISSÉ
