In response to an explosion at an explosives warehouse and subsequent flooding, the Seychelles archipelago officially declared a state of emergency on Thursday, as communicated in a statement from the presidency. Urging residents to remain in their homes, the government addressed the aftermath of the explosion, which occurred in the Providence industrial zone on Mahé, the largest island in the archipelago and home to 87% of its 98,000 population. The explosion resulted in significant damage in the immediate vicinity, although specific details were not provided by the presidency.
Public broadcaster SBC confirmed that heavy rains on Wednesday evening led to extensive damage in various areas of Mahé.
Renowned for its idyllic white-sand beaches and thriving luxury tourism sector, the Seychelles archipelago, comprising 115 islands, holds the distinction of being the wealthiest African country in terms of gross domestic product per capita, primarily driven by tourism and fishing. However, this economic prosperity conceals notable disparities, with nearly 40% of the population living in poverty due to the high cost of living.
The broader East Africa and Indian Ocean regions have faced weeks of severe weather conditions, including torrential rains and floods linked to the El Niño phenomenon. This climatic disturbance has displaced over a million people in Somalia and resulted in over 300 fatalities in the vulnerable region, increasingly susceptible to climate change and intensified extreme weather events.
The United Nations attributes the escalated situation to the combined impact of El Niño in the Pacific, causing abnormal ocean temperatures, and the Indian Ocean Dipole, a disparity in sea surface temperatures between the western and eastern parts of the ocean.
El Niño, typically associated with elevated temperatures, drought in some regions, and intensified rainfall in others, is anticipated to persist until April. The last occurrence of this weather phenomenon took place in 2018-2019, followed by an unusually prolonged episode of La Niña, the contrasting (cold) phenomenon, which concluded this year.
El Niño has already inflicted widespread damage in East Africa, with historical instances, such as the period from October 1997 to January 1998, witnessing immense floods triggered by the associated heavy rains, resulting in the loss of over 6,000 lives across five countries in the region.
Ref: AFP
