Flooding after heavy rains killed at least four people Friday in Ivory Coast's economic capital Abidjan and swept away two children, firefighters told AFP.

 

 

"Eight victims, including four dead and four wounded, were registered in Mossikro," a poor area of Abidjan, a spokesman said.

 

Meanwhile, firefighters were searching for the two lost children through "heavy material damage", after video shared online showed water sweeping away everything in its path including a car.

 

Most of those hurt or killed in the heavy rains lived in areas with little infrastructure, butting onto hills that can become unstable in bad weather.

 

Abidjan's rainy season usually lasts from May to late July, but climate change has contributed to unexpected late rainfall.

 

Heavy precipitation often causes loss of life in Ivory Coast's economic capital, home to five million people and growing beyond its infrastructure's capacity, with 18 killed in 2018 floods and at least 15 dying in 2017.