Deadly floods strike after 300mm of rain in Guadeloupe

Richard Davies
Floodlist
Sun, 01 May 2022 18:09 UTC

At least 2 people have died and 1 is still missing after torrential rain caused severe flooding and landslides in Guadeloupe.

The prefecture government said heavy rain began to fall in areas including Le Gosier, Les Abymes and Pointe-à-Pitre during the early hours of 30 April 2022. By the evening over 300 mm of rain had fallen, which is more than during Hurricane Maria in 2017 according to the prefecture government. Météo-France reported 312 mm of rain in Leroux, Le Gosier; 312 mm in Le Raizet, Pointe-à-Pitre and 214 in Les Abymes.

Around 80 firefighters were mobilized and carried out dozens of interventions. Several roads were flooded, causing traffic chaos and forcing many drivers to abandon their vehicles.

The government of Guadeloupe reported one person was found dead in a vehicle in flood waters in Le Gosier, and that a second victim died in similar circumstances in the Grand Camp sector of Les Abymes. One person was reported missing in the Bas du Fort area of Le Gosier. Firefighters rescued at least 35 people from floods.

Several roads were closed temporarily. Authorities requested people not to travel in the Pointoise area and not to hike in the mountainous area. Warnings were in place for landslides, in particular in La Bouaye and Cocoyer.

Severe flooding affected the island group in February 2021.